Loki's Bride
by Violetrose25
Summary: "Is there no possible diplomacy brother? Anything to end the bloodshed?" "No there is no-" Loki paused and looked to me. Oh no. "Erica?" (curses to myself) -(LokixOC. I OWN NOTHING! Read and review, please. Rating may go up to M. Enjoy!) Warning: Trueblood/Avengers CROSSOVER! Please don't hate me for it. :)
1. My new life

So I have been Stark's intern for a year now. He and I get along to a point… we are both sarcastic and snarky, so we can converse with each other. Tony has grown fond of me for my attitudes and my scientific knowledge. I know he likes me because as far as I know, nobody else can get away with calling him "light bright." When I first saw his little handicap, I can't say I was all that surprised. Nobody I have ever known has been normal.

Let me explain. From my humble beginnings in Louisiana, my entire company has consisted of my vampire father, my telepathic mother, and my various supernatural friends. S.H.I.E.L.D. had always had an interest in me, considering I was (am) one of a kind. For I am the only half vampire in existence. Not only that, I am the only person who's killing career started at age 2, and continued on from there. As of now, at age 19, I am a secret agent, and a scientific intern. Stark took interest in me after S.H.I.E.L.D. told them about my scientific achievements.

(I build rocket boots at age nine, a holographic projector at age fourteen, and well… you get the point.) So Tony offered me a job here. I call my family a couple times a month, but I can't tell them what goes on with my career. Secret agent and all.

Oh, and forgive me for not introducing myself. I'm Erica Claudine Northman, the daughter of an ancient Viking vampire. Nice to meet you.

XXXXXXXXXX

Today has started like any other day in Stark Towers. Tony gave me my own floor, which was nice of him. His A.I. woke me up at 8:00 am, a reasonable time. Another usual Friday, I rolled out of my ridiculously comfortable bed and stood to my full 5 foot 11 height. Walking to the mirror, I inspected my slightly angular features (all except my nose, which my mother refuses to stop calling a button) and large hazy blue eyes. I brushed my ear length blonde mess of hair and stepped into my normal ensemble.

That included a black tank top, faded jeans, combat boots, and my old black leather jacket. Luckily Tony didn't care that I dressed so casually, considering I spent most of my time in the lab if I wasn't on an assignment. Strolling down to the lab, I greeted Tony's CEO and girlfriend, Pepper. She was a kind woman with thick strawberry blonde hair and a square face. She was slightly wrinkled, stress on the job tends to age people prematurely.

"Good morning, Ms. Potts." "Good morning, Erica." She greeted and walked down the hall. Stark met me in the laboratory, saying something about a new system for his suits he wanted me to work on. He kept pushing me for spinning rims, but I kept arguing that was impractical. The new "iron man" suit was already in a portable case, just as he requested.

Suddenly in the middle of our argument, an alarm went off. "Sir, the director of S.H.I.L.D. is here for you and Miss Northman. He's being awfully insistent on speaking with you both. He says it's an urgent matter. The world might be at stake."

Tony sighed. "Send him in." This was going to be interesting. I had never met the director before, but I had sure heard of him. He was supposed to be one scary mother fucker, as some agents described him.

When we entered the loby, a group of gunmen stepped aside to reveal… no it couldn't be. That eyepatch. I recognized him. "Nicky." I said distainfuly. "We meet again, Miss Northman." "I had no idea you were the director." Tony interrupted us. "You two know each other?" I nodded. "Ever wonder how he lost his eye?" "Yeah but… oh." He realized as Nicky and I stared down one another with a shared glare of hate.


	2. Reunions

"Wait... wait... wait." Tony seemed unimaginably confused. "YOU! You're the one who turned him into the fucking matrix pirate he is today?" "Pretty much." I answered. "Why? When did you two... I can't even... Explain please." I sighed. "He locked me up for a month in a torture chamber and sliced me up." "You killed three of my men when you were two." Fury retorted. "Your men tried to harm my family. Your men brought it on themselves." "Your an abomination against nature." "Your a heartless bastard who tortured me and killed my only friend." Is it obvious we hated eachother?

Our debate was interrupted by a familiar voice. "I never died." I turned to see the face I knew I'd never forget. Tears were threatening to form around my eyes, but I blinked them back. My only companion, whom I thought had died in order for me to escape, was standing before me. Though she had changed a lot since she was 14 and i was six, we recognized one another immediatly. "Natty." I breathed and ran to her. I wrapped my arms around her and she squeezed me. I stroked her hair, just like I used to whenn we were locked up. She had been so traumatized... I had to console her. A make shift mother from a child younger than herself. that was how fucked up our hellhole was.

"Oh Natty. I thought... I thought you were dead." "I did too. But they made a different call." We pulled away and smiled at one another. Natty was now a lovely 24 year old, with that same spicy red hair that I remembered from so long ago. "You look great Natty." She looked over me. "You don't look to bad yourself. Your boobs are even bigger than mine." We laughed. Tony broke in. "Erica... you know Natasha Romanoff?!" "Your full name is Natasha!?" I said to Natt...Natasha. "Yes. I grew up to be an assassin. Well I was back then... but you get the point. So you are the assistant I've heard so much about? God, you're even smarter than I remember."

"Thank you so much. It's... it just means the world to me to see you again Natt... Natasha." "It's fine. You can call me Natty. You are the only person in the world who can. You saved my life, Erica." "I left you to die." I whispered. "I told you I wanted to. I owe you everything Erica. If it weren't for you...I _would_ be dead. You kept me sane." Then a thought resurfaced. "Wait, what is this world catastrophe?" Everyone seemed to remember why they were here. "A madman took something of great scientific value and destroyed our base in New Mexico." Fury answered.

"What was taken? And who is this madman?" Stark asked. "Remember what you foud in the ocean?" "Oh no. You don't mean... the tesseract! We-we have to stop him!" I remembered when Tony found it. In fact, it was the first thing I worked on when I got here. The cube was a sourse of mass energy, and it could be used to create weapons of unimaginable power. I remember it was shipped off to be studied by a man named Selvig. He was supposed to be an expert. It falling into the wrong hands... this was bad. No, worse than bad. This was a disaster in the making. Just how big of a disaster depended on who had it.

"Who took it?" I asked. "First question... do you believe in aliens, miss Northman?" I rolled my eyes. "I'm a half vampire who lived in the company of fairies and shape shifters. Aliens aren't all that far fetched to me." Then I realized. "An alien took the tesseract? Where is this extra terrestrial from?" "Second question. Do you believe in mythology?" "I am mythology." "Good point. Are you familiar with Norse Mythology?" "My father is a Viking vampire. Of course I am. I grew up with it. The nine realms. Thor. Odin. Freya. I've heard all the stories. Now please tell me exactly who took it?" "Erica... those fairytales you heard weren't fairytales at all. They were real."

Even though my heart jumped and my head screamed with delight at the thought, I knew this was serious. "Who?" "Loki Laufeyson." The norse god of mischief had taken the tesseract. Knowing the stories, that could only mean bad news. "Well then... we're _royally_ fucked."


	3. Missions

"How did this even happen? I want answers, and I want them _now!_" I demanded. Loki, a god I've been told about since childhood, was real. Not only real, but he was threatening my world with possibly most powerful weapon in the nine realms. "Well, we have somebody here who might shed some light on the situation. Dr. Forster?" Fury directed to a woman who walked onto the scene. She was tall, not as tall as I, but still. She was pretty, with light brown hair, chocolate eyes, and a sweet face. She was wearing a labcoat, so I assumed she was a scientist.

"Hello, Ms. Nrothman, I'm doctor Jane Foster. I am an astrophysist who studies the irregular happenings in the cosmos." "Pleasure to meet you. What can you tell us about what is going on? How did this happen?" She sighed. "Well... about a year ago, there was an odd disturbance that I was investigating. It appeared to be a wormhole, in simplistic terms. What came through was... well... Thor." "Thor was in New Mexico? You actually met the Norse God of Thunder?" She nodded. "He had been banished from his home for nearly starting a war on another planet with some creatures called... Um.." "Frost Giants?" "Yes! Anyway, he crashed where I was investigating, and I took him in. Long story short, his brother came to Earth to ensure that he never return. He was jealous. He was going to start a war, joining up with his people, but Thor got his powers back and tried to stop him. From what I know, Loki fell into an abyss. But I suppose he must have survived, because I was there when Loki returned. He said he ahd an army of his people ready to rule our world. I guess he knew about the tesseract, so now he's using it for his army."

"So he's going to start a war on us with an army of FROST GIANTS! And where the hell is Thor while all of this is happening?! Or Odin? OR SOMEBODY FROM ASGARD?!" I shouted, shocked that Thor wasn't involved. "Word is he detroyed the uh... rainbow bridge to keep Loki from destroying Earth once before. The "bifrost" was destroyed in the process, so he is of no help. Which is why we are here. We need a responce team to help get this under control." Fury explained. Jane looked sad since Fury mentioned Thor not being able to be contacted. Well who wouldn't be. He would be a mighty big help at the moment.

"So you want us to take on Loki and find the tesseract all by ourselves? Are you crazy?" Tony asked. "Oh no, of course not. We are assembling an entire group as we speak. You happen to be on our list for who should be in our group. If you come with us, we'll introduce you to the rest. So, are you in?" I thought. Take on a super villian? Save the world? Sure, why the hell not.

I nodded. "I'm in. Tony?" He nodded. "Excellent. Now, since you've both already met Ms. Romanoff, we will take you to the carrier where everyonr else is working as we speak." "Natasha is in this too?" I asked. "Yep. You and I will be fighting together." I smiled. "I love the sound of that." She smiled back, and we headed off to save the Earth.

AITHORS NOTE: I KNOW LOKI WAS ORIGINALLY WITH THE CHITARI, BUT I HAVE MY REASONS FOR WHY HE'S FIGHTING WITH THE FROST GIANTS, WHICH WILL BE REVEALED LATER ON. I HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED MY STORY SO FAR. PLEASE REVIEW! ;)


	4. On The Helicarrier

The carrier was a marvelous piece of engineering. The engines were designed for an aquatic _and _ariel usage. The deflector shields, which rerfacted light in a way not unlike invisibility, were quite impressive as well. As soon as this was over, I'd definintly study how it worked and how it was designed. But that was for later. As we arrived on the landing strip, I noticed three people waiting for us. Coulson I knew, for he had recruited me. The other two were strangers. One was young, classically handsome with a sleak blonde hairstyle. The man was broad and a little over six feet tall. The other was older, with a ploom of graying curls atop a round face. He seemed to have an ironicly amused expression. I suppose I would find out why in a minute.

Stepping out, I greeeted the men. "Ms. Northman, I'd like you to meet Captian Steve Rogers." Coulson introduced me to the blonde one. "Pleasure to meet you, sir. So, you're a military man I assume?" "Yes ma'am." Huh, awfully polite. That was a quality you just don't find nowadays. Kudos to his parents. "Captian Rogers is also known as Captian America." I had to hold back laughter. Captian America? The trading card lives! "He's the world's first superhero. Back in the 1940's..." "Um... 1940's? This man doesn't look a day over 21. That would make him over 70 years old." "Well, he had to crash land... he got frozen in ice." I nodded. No weirder than anything else I've heard.

"And this is Dr. Bruce Banner. He's an expert in gamma radiation." So, that was fluffy's trade. "Nice to meet you, doctor." "Likewise." He replied with a sad smile. This guy just leaked negativity. "Gentlemen, this is Erica Northman. She is a scientist and a very skilled tactical agent. She also has insight into our situation because of her heritage." "You're a Norse decentent?" Asked Dr. Banner. "A direct decentent. My father is actually a Viking." "That would make him over 1000 years old." Rogers pointed out. I smiled slyly. "You sound surprised. Considering you've been a popsicle for over 70 years." "Even so. How is that even possible?" I decided to be a little bit of a show off. I pulled out my fangs.

"We're vampires. Or more... I'm only half vampire. That's how." There were shared looks of shock and fear. "Don't worry. I won't suck your blood. I am perfecty capable of eating, as Stark and Natty can tell you." They looked to confirm, and were met with brisk nods. "Dr. Banner, you'll be working with Ms. Northman to locate the tesseract and hopefully Loki." Fury explained.

Banner nodded and led me to on board lab. Just as we reached it, the ship began to lift out of the ocean. "Perfect." He said saracstically. I would have to ask him about this attitude when we had the time. But not now. We got to work on pinpointing the most faint gamma signatures and ruling out as many locations as possible. Our work was.. how do I describe it? Careful but rushed. I mean this was delicate work, but we were on a time-constricted schedule.

The two of us barely spoke with one another, other than remarks about our progress. I felt that I scared him with the whole "vampire" thing, so after a while I decided to make an apology. "Look, I'm sorry if I frightened you all back there. I truly mean no harm to anybody, I just thought it best if everybody knew what I was." Banner smiled. "Ah, Erica. It's not you. I know you don't want to hurt anybody... not on this craft anyway." I giggled. Yes, I would gladly kick the shit out of the bad guys, but everybody here was fine. "So what's wrong then? You seem so.. pesimistic. I've noticed it since we met. Come on, you can tell me." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Banner turned to me with clouded depression in his big brown eyes.

"Well... a few years ago, I was experimenting with gamma radiation. I wanted to see if it could be used to enhance the human endurance level and physical strength. Without any other subjects to test it on, I decided to use it... on myself. At first I thought I was fine, but then..." He trailed off in his own tnoughts. "But what?" I asked softly. "It had some very unusual side-effects." "Such as?" He sighed. "Let me show you." He said and pulled up some video footage on the holographic screen. An enormous green creature was roaring, destroying buildings. I suddenly noticed it's odd resemblence to Banner. "Is that... you?" He nodded. "It only happens when I'm upset, angry... any type of excitement. I'v been learning to control it, but it's a slow process. Seeing what I am, most people think I'm a monster." "No you're not. You can't help what you are. If it helps, I know how you feel. Being different is tough. But I'm sure everything will be alright."

He smiled apprehensivly. "That's sweet. Thank you, Ms. Northman." "Please, call me Erica." I smiled politely. "Alright... Erica." We smiled at each other for a little longer than we probably should have when somebody alerted: "We found Loki! A 67% match. He's in Germany!" "He's not exactly hiding." Stark said. I took charge. 'Alright then, what are waiting for? Let's get this bastard! Come on ladies, lets go!" I called and we prepared for battle. "Off to Germany!" I called to the crew.


	5. Meeting the Monster

It was dark out when we arrived at our destination. Loki was at a presiegous ball in a truly beautiful building. The architecture was almost roman, and it certianly looked like a place for high class people to congrgate. The agents had me go undercover as a guest. At first they tried to put me in a dress, granted it was black, but still. "How the hell am I supposed to go into combat in this?" I asked, holding up the sleek ebony garment. "Ms. Northman, It's just a disguise..." "Yeah, well if things get hairy, I certainly can't fight in this thing. No, if you want me to look fancy, bring me a black pantsuit now please." The agents silently got me what I requested. The pants were skin tight, cocooning my legs in black. At the waist was a maroon belt with a brass buckle, and the top half was long sleeved. The top showed just an inch of cleavage. As I looked myslef over, I smiled. This outfit emphasised the curve of my figure, while allowing me to quick movements.

Inside, I tried to keep myself incognito. However, many men were taking notice of me and my very tight outfit. Men always seem to notice me, and even a few women have shown interest. It has always been this way for me, though I despised romantic love. I ever wanted it, I never needed it. Who needs a soulmate, anyway? Who is to tell me that I'm not complete all by myself. Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something being kocked to the ground, and screams. A man, ebony haired and green eyed, was dragging a man to a marble table. That must have been Loki. I sprung into action and grabbed my gun.

Loki had gouged the man's eye out when I jumped for him. I kicked him in the face, blood splattering onto the floor. While he was down, I began punching him in the face. He had a huge bruise on the left cheek, and the blood vessels in his right eye had popped. Loki paushed me off of him, and lunged for his eye gouger. I kicked it away from him, and he hit me in the thigh. Pulling his hair, I dragged him outside. Loki bit my side. He actually bit a vampire. I momentarily let go, and that delay cost me my consiousness. Loki had knocked me out cold with his septer. For a few minutes, everything was black. But when I awoke, I stood with my gun in hand. Loki was giving a speech to a crowd of kneeling people. "You were made, to be ruled." he exclaimed in an odd accent. I called out to him. "Loki!" He truned around to sneer, but stared in astonishment as my wounds healed before him.

"What the hell are you?" He asked. I sneered back at him. "Your death." I said, and pulled the trigger.


	6. Humiliations and Honors

Suddenly Loki was pulled away a blur of red. What the hell? The blur flew about twenty yards before I caught up with it. What I saw... well...was this: Loki was being held in a loving embrace by a tall blonde clad in silver and red. His hair was down to his shoulders. "Oh thank god! Get this oaf off of me!" loki cried as the muscular blonde squeezed him. "I thought you were dead, and I almost lost you again, brother. You're not getting away from me this time." Oh, that was Thor. I decided to let the hug go on, I felt bad for Thor and it was amusing to watch Loki struggle to get away. I smirked and laughed. "Don't laugh at me, blonde midgardian woman! Help me!" Okay, I thought. Yeah, this had gone on long enough.

Loki's POV:

As I was removing the mortal's eye, somebody knocked me to the ground. That was odd, most midgardians couldn't overpower me so easily. As I looked up to my attacker, I was met with a fist to my face. The mortal was hitting me! Dear god it hurt. My right eye went red, the veins must have burst. It took an effort to push... HER off of me?! A mortal woman had damaged me? What sorcery was this? Surely I could possibly understand a strong man doing such, but her? She was just a normally built female, not too muscular, and well endowed with physical assets. Did a midgardian _model_ attack me? That was not possible, those women get winded just pushing an elevator button. I reached for my weapon, but she kicked it away from me. So I hit her in the thigh. She didn't even flinch. Strange. OW OW OW! My hair, she was pulling my hair. Son of a bitch, that was painful. How was she doing this? Taking an oppritunity, I bit her.

She let go, so I knocked her out with my septer. I had to admit, the girl put up one hell of a fight. She'd be out for a while, I'd hit her hard enough to give the wench a massive concussion. But just a few minutes into my speech, I heard a voice behind me. "Loki!" The woman called. She had a nice voice. Why did I just think that? Anyway, I was about to kill the girl when she... what the fuck? Her wounds were healing! Right before my eyes, like somebody had sped up time. I knew no normal mortal could harm me! "What the hell are you?" I asked. I found myself highly curious. I mean she was definitly not human, not completely. But what was she? Such a strange creaure... yet so... beautiful. She had large eyes with the intent to kill, the beauty was a warrior. Those plump pink lips spread into an evil smile, revealing a show of teeth as white as an Asgardian winter. "Your death." She stated, and fired a handheld weapon.

All I had time to think was "Oh no" before I was flying across the sky, being held by something... or somebody. At first I was glad for my rescuer, I had no intention of dying by the hand of that freakish woman. Then I realized it was Thor, and he had proceeded in wrapping himself around me, and nearly squeezing the life out of me. Suddenly the woman appeared, having run at a lightning pace? What WAS she? I was relieved for some reason. "Oh thank god! Get this oaf off of me!" I commanded. Thor spoke. "I thought you were dead, and I almost lost you again, brother. You're not getting away from me this time." The short haired blonde woman was smiling and laughing at me. I suddenly had the desire to be dead. Much rather have been shot by her than be mocked by her, while this moron was sqeezing me to death. It frightened me that I was so humiliated by her seeing this. "Don't laugh at me, blonde midgardian woman! Help me!" I pleaded, hiding my mortification. she seemed to take pity on me.

"Thor, I know you missed him, but I think you're about to crush the guy." She said, amused. Despite the emberassment I felt, I was relieved when my non-brother released me. I gasped. "What do you want from my brother?" Thor asked. "Well, since we can't kill him, and you're here... we need him to tell us where the tesseract is." Thor did not like the woman. But he relaxed. "Why did you try and kill him?" "I feared he would hurt the innocent people over there. But with you here, that is no longer necessary. You wouldn't let him hurt anyone, and I would never try to harm somebody who I know has a family that loves them. Also, I respect you and your family too much to go against your wishes." Thor seemed to believe the woman was sincere. "Alright. I wish to take him back to Asgard." Yes, I would _much_ rather have let the woman kill me.

Erica POV:

"You may take him home as soon as we know where the cube is. If that is okay, we would like to take him aboard our ship. In fact, if it would make you comfortable, you may join us. We could use your help, anyway." Thor smiled. "I like you, Midgargian. What may I ask is your name?" I was absolutetly flattered. For me, who grew up with norse fairytales, there was no greater compliment than having the trust and attention from the god of Thunder himself. I respected Thor greatly, and was happy to give him my name. "Why my name is Erica Northman, daughter of Eric Northman, at your service sir." I bowed slightly. "You are very kind, Lady Erica. I will agree to aid you. As long as I may take my brother home when you have what you seek." "Of course, Thor. Yes you may." Thor nodded. "Excellent, then it is agreed. To the ship then!" Thor said, throwing Loki over his shoulder. "Put me down!" He commanded. I snickered. "To the ship it is, Sir Thor." I led my new companions to the helicarrier.


	7. Sexual Tension

On board, Loki was taken to a special holding cell on the other side of the carrier. Some top notch agents were interrogating him about his plans. Hopefully we could get the location of the tesseract out of him. Everybody else was simply "on hold" until we were needed again.

So to kill some time, Thor was being introduced to everyone. Bruce was curtious as usual, and Thor seemed to like him. Captian America was much more formal, as to be expected. Fury was given a simple nod of understanding. thor greeted Natty with a kiss on the back of the hand. Well that was how they greeted women in Asgard. But when he saw Jane Foster... I realized just how much they knew each other. Jane leaped into his arms, and he kissed her. I mean really kissed her. It was a nausiating display of affection, watching Norse god make out with a seemingly professional scientist. Thor suddenly asked for some "time alone" with Ms. Foster, to catch up. Everybody there knew exactly what he meant by that. So Thor went off to have some reunion sex with his girlfriend, I took the oppritunity to observe the sexual tension that I had not seen in my haste to find Loki.

Here is what I saw: Agent Maria Hill was mentally undressing Fury (A thought that made me physically ill). Fury was jsut as anxious to get into her pants, but the two disguised their lust with "polite conversation". If anyone is wondering, the reason I could see this was because A) I am a vampire who has hightened senses, so I could inturpret body language to the most subtle detail and B) with nothing better to do, I could actually pay attention to all of this happening around me. But anyway, things were even more intense between Bruce and Natty. I could sense the stares they gave one another were filled with longing. Bruce would gulp back drool, and I heard Natty's heartrate go up. But the most sexual tension was between Captian Rogers and Agent Coulson.

Apparently, as I found out, Coulson idolized Rogers. He was a Captian America fanatic, but he was also very respectful. Rogers admired Phil for being an all around honorable guy. The two were apparenty friends, good friends. Of course only I saw the way Coulson looked at Captian with a deeply rooted lusty schoolgirl expression. Captian blushed ever so slightly at Phil, and was barely containing his urge to kiss him. The way his lips were quivering, his fists clenching as he smiled nervously, it was excrushiating. They wanted each other so much, and were afraid to admit it. After watching this delightful entertainment for about two hours (vampires don't get board easily) I was a moment away from screaming:"Just kiss already! You know you want to!".

Suddenly I was stopped from my outburst by Natasha entering the room. "Erica, we need your help interrogating Loki. He won't budge, and we think you might be able to get him to talk." "What makes you say that?" I asked. "Because he keeps asking to speak with you." Oh. That was not what I was expecting. Intrigued, I followed Natty to where Loki was being held. It was a large glass cage, circular in shape. "He wants to speak with you alone. I suggest you watch your back." "I always do." I replied. Natty smiled and left. Loki turned to face me, his face a textbook description of "batshit crazy." "Hello, Erica Northan." He greeted coldly.


	8. Tango of Wits

Loki's POV:

Erica was standing before me, eyes filled with apprehension and wariness. I found myeslf intrigued by the odd woman, her strength and ablility to heal were most unusual. "Why do you wish to speak with me?" She asked. "You interest me. What are you, midgaridan?" She rolled her saucer sized, implacable bluish eyes. "If I had a nickel...hmm. As for what I am, why should I tell you?" I smiled. "Because I want to know. And I always get what I want." She raised a thin blonde eyebrow. It made me want to laugh. Erica was as the mortals say "sassy." "So you wanted me to punch you? You wanted me to nearly kill you? You wanted me to find Thor cuddling you to death?" I had to fight off showing my extreme emberassment. I don't know why it bothered me that she saw that. Or why I cared what she thought. Well... she did almost kill me. I suppose I don't want her to think of me as helpless.

"If so, you have some ODD desires." Re-organizing my thoughts, I smiled slightly. "Well... things don't always go according to plan, now do they? If they did, you would have killed me, correct?" "Why yes. You would have a bullet in your skull if your big brother hadn't come to save you." She laughed. "You owe your loving brother your little life." I was infused with a burst of anger. "I owe nobody anything! And he is not my brother!" I wanted to hit myself for showig weakness. She was a predator, I her captive prey. She was toying with me for her own amusment. Suddenly I felt powerless. She found my weakness. She was going to torture me with it.

"Oh, I found a sore spot, did I? Are you upset because you discovered you were a monster?" She called me a monster. How _dare_ she. I couldn't help being what I was. I was nothing like them... until my family discraced me. They always hated me, they lied to me, and expected me to be accepting when I was told the truth. I didn't realize I was showing how hurt I was until Erica was sighing. "I suppose that was too much. I apologize. That's a hypocritical statement of me anyway." That peaked my curiosity. "How so?" She sat in a nearby chair.

"Well, in a way I am no better than you. I have killed many before, and I had no remorse. I still don't. In some cases... I even enjoyed causing carnage." She was opening up to me? No, no this had to be a trick. She was trying to manipulate me, but I wouldn't let her. I'd play in her game, and give her nothing. I would have to be cunning though. She was a clever wench, capable of swaying emotions. This would be thrilling, for I had never met somebody with whom I could play wits against. Her mind must be fascinating.

'So, what exactly are you?" "Loki, do you know what a vampire is?" Yes. I did. Every culture has its blood suckers. So that was what she was. No wonder she could influence me. She has had centuries of practice. I nodded to her. "Good. Have you ever heard of a half vampire? A daywalker?" Daywalker. A _daywalker_. No that was not possible. It was a myth. She was a myth amongst myths. "Yes, but such a creature is a legend." "I am right here, you know. I am the legend of which you speak." "How can I believe such a thing?" Erica did something unpredictable. She opened my cage, and walked to me. The door closed behind us. "wh-what are you doing?" I asked in shock, and.. fear. I was afraid of her? No, I couldn't be. Erica grabbed my hand. I didn't resist as she placed it inbetween her breasts, an action I admittadly enjoyed. Her skin was so warm, and soft. Vampire's skin was ice cold, just like mine was. I felt a thumping beneath my hand.

"Do you feel my heart beat, Loki? Do you feel the feverish warmth of my skin? Would a normal vampire be able to have either?" She whispered in her angelic voice. "No." I said breathlessly, my hand eager to investigate her beautiful form. Erica tightened her grip on my hand, and pulled it away. She stared at me, fangs bared and my hand almost being crushed. "Don't ever touch me Loki." I nodded. I had resigned myself to the fact. I was deathly afraid of this daywalker. It was a fear I hoped never to experience again. I wanted to be in control again. I vowed never to let her subjugate me again. In fact, I swore to reverse this situation one day. "Now comply with me." She commanded. I whipered okay. "Good boy. Now, where is the tesseract?" "It- I don't know." I answered honestly. My army had taken it to a place unknown, not telling me. Something about "deniable credibility."

She seemed to know that I was telling the truth. "Okay, then what do you plan to do? How will you attack the city?" "My army will come, we will use the tessract to open a portal and enslave mankind. For now I only have a handful of them. And some minions I created to aid me as well." "How did you manage that?" Why was I teling her all of this? Oh, because I knew my plans would still work. Sure these were a generalization of my plan, but the details were what made it foolproof. Little did they know that my septer was a tracking device, my minions coming to break me out as I speak. Little did they know that my minion Dr. Selvig was assembling the portal on top of the Tower of the Man of Iron. Even so, I shouldn't be saying this. All of this was giving them more information to foil my plans. Yet here I was. "My septer can control people." "How do you stop it?" "A very hard knock to the head." She giggled under her breath. "Thank you for your cooperation." She said and left.

I was relieved when the woman was gone. It terrified me that I was afraid of her, and I respected her. I had never repected a midgardian before, human or not. She was unique. She could manipulate the master manipulator. How? What gave her that ability? She was actually young, so she couldn't have had the time to perfect such a skill as a normal vampire could have. Maybe it came to her naturally. Whatever it was, I knew at that moment that I _would _reverse the rolls. She would be powerless before me someday, someday soon. I would have her for my own servent, a slave. It was only a matter of time. She would be _mine._


	9. Name Calling

Erica POV:

I exited the room, glad Loki was no longer touching me. I did what I had to in order for him to talk, nothing more. Natty met me outside. "Did he tell you anything?" "Oh yes. Apparently his army is going to destroy the city after a portal is opened. He does not know where the cube is, unfortunatly." "How could you tell?" She asked. I smiled mischeivously. "I know body language all too well. He doesn't know where it is." Natty raised an eyebrow. "What else do you know from body launguage?" Her muscles were a little more tense under her skin, and her eyes looked pleading. "Nothing that I would tell anybody about you, Natty." I said and winked. She relaxed. We both knew she had feelings for Banner.

"Good. But... did Loki say anything about my partner, Clint?" Clint? Loki had not mentioned a Clint. "No. Why, do you think Loki has him under his control?" "I know he does. I know it. Erica, I need a favor." "Anything for you, Natty." She smiled. "Help me find him when we can. I owe him a debt, he saved my life." I nodded. "Of course I will. Anybody who means something to you means something to me." "Thank you Erica. I knew you were the one person I could trust." "The feeling is mutual." Natty and I shared a tender moment of meaningful eye contact, a bond between comrads and friends. We only looked at one another for a few moments before we were called to the lab.

"You two better have a look at this!" Stark called. Natty and I stormed off to see whatever it was that was so important.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why do you think it's doing that?" Natty asked. The septer was glowing, a pulsating blue light being emitted from its core. "I don't like the looks of it. Do you have any idea, Thor?" I asked. Thor had his hands on his chin, Jane was standing behind him. She looked flustered, her hair tousled and cheeks bright pink with a blush. I _wonder why_. "I know not, Lady Erica. Perhaps the septer is connected to the tesseract." That was a plausible theory. "But how, exactly?" "Maybe if we track the sourse of the energy, we can locate the tesseract." Bruce suggested. "But my question is, what is its purpose? Why are the two connected? That is what concerns me." I elaborated. "She's right. this could be bad news for us." Natty added.

"Yes Natasha, as if that wasn't _obvious_." Stark said snarkily. "You don't need to get so saracstic, Tony. She's just agreeing with what Erica said. I tend to side with them." Rogers was joining in. "Whatever you say, Captian Suck up." "Guys, we need to focus." Bruce interjected. "Nobody was talking to you, Hulk." "Don't call me that." "I just did. What are you going to do about it?" Tony challenged. Thor began laughing. "You humans are so petty... and tiny." This was getting ridiculous. This was by far the single most pointless arguement ever. You know what, this trumped the arguement with my mother about shopping. "What am I going to do about it?" "Yes, Mr. enormous green rage monster, what are you going to do about it?" Rogers stepped inbetween them. "Tony are you insane? This is not helping." "Lay off of me, Spangles." I know it was an odd time to be thinking this, but from now on, that was his nickname.

"You want to go, Stark? Put on that suit and let's go outside." "Make me." "Put. On. The. Suit." Spangles growled through his teeth. A throat clearing alerted us to Fury's presence. "Is there a problem here?" He asked. "These men are acting like five year olds." I retorted. I was picking up the vibe, and was now highly annoyed with this display. "I was not talking to you, Erica." "Well, too bad Nicky." Fury clenched his fists. "I hate it when you call me that." "I hated when you locked Natty and I up and tortured us." Fury smiled. "And I will gladly do so again." "You wanna lose your other eye, _Nicky?_" I asked. "No, _princess _Erica." Everybody backed up an inch. "What did you just call me, Eyepatch?" I could faintly hear Bruce's "oh shit." whisper.

"You heard me, little fairy princess. Does thou needith a royal tiara, O princess?" I felt myself become enraged. "You're a dead man, Fury!" "You're already half-dead." So I lunged for him. Little did any of us know that Loki was using our anger as a sort of transmission signal to his minions. Because the next thing we knew, the side of the helicarrier exploded. We were thrown about the ship, poor Bruce had transformed into the "Hulk". I had to get Natty the hell away from him before he could crush her.

While we were dealing with Banner, Thor had gone to stop Loki. Unfortunatly, he was already out, and had locked Thor in his cage. Apparently when Coulson tried to stop Loki, Loki stabbed him with the septer. Loki had sent Thor crashing to Earth. Coulson was in the hospital. The carrier was near dstroyed. Bruce had landed on a garbage pile in a barge. And Natty's partner ended up with a grotesquely swelled forehead. All of this over name calling.

As ashamed as I am to say this, that was the real reason all of that was set into motion. After everything was settled, we all agreed that our story would be this: Captian had _discovered _that S.H.I.E.L.D. was using the tesseract to make weapons. (Actually everyone was aware, and it was an understanding that it was nessesary). Then Fury and the whole team got into an arguement about the moral ramifications of such an act. Thus the anger attractected the slaves and well... the rest is history. We didn't wan't anyone to know how stupid our altercation truly was. Who would? Of course that was only the preview of the disasters to come.


	10. Plans and Action

Now the entire team was scattered, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. A portal was indeed opening up, right over Manhatten. Giant blue monsters were running amock in the streets, tearing apart all that stood in their way. With the helicarrier crashed (Most everybody evacuated using the jets, thank god) and only four capable teammates left, we were screwed. It was Light bright, Spangles, Natty, and I against... this. Clint "Hawkeye" had a cocussion too severe to be of much help, though he did lend us his... exploding arrows. So... yeah.

"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Plan? PLAN? Erica, in case you haven't noticed, we are up shit creek without a paddle here! Loki has my tower surrounded and filled with those things, and my suit is damaged beyond repiar, so I'm useless. Captian has a shield... and not much else. Natasha had _a_ gun. You have your... vampire hocus pocus. Clint left us _arrows, _for gods' sake! We're finished! Game over man, game _over- OW!" _Captian had slapped him across the face. Well it was about freakin' time! "Pull yourself together, Stark. She's right, we do need a plan."

Tony rubbed his cheek with his hand. "Well what do _you_ suggest?" "We get as many people as we can out of the city. Then we fight." "Not the best plan." Stark retorted. "What else can we do?" Natasha joined. "We win." A voice from behind us said. "THOR!" I cried out in joyous surprise. "Friends, we must defeat Loki before he harms this place any further. I have a plan." "Well at someone does." I mumbled under my breath. "Man of Iron, I have taken the liberty of retrieving your suit." He handed Stark the briefcase I designed. "But how?" "I have had many a year in mastering the art of stealth." We all nodded. "Stark, you keep the beasts that the Frost Giants ushered into this world at bay. Lady Natasha, Spangled man, you fight the soldiers here and evacuate the city. Lady Erica and I shall go up top and deal with Loki." "Sounds like a plan. Let's sui-" A motorcycle engine.

"Hey Bruce, weclome to the party." I called. Huh. Maybe we _could_ win. "Yes. This all seems horrible." "I've seen worse."Natty said. Banner had a guilty look on his face, of course he despised himself for nearly killing Natty. I mean he cared for her, just as she him. "I'm sorry." "No actually, we could use a little worse." Her tone meant that she forgave Bruce. He smiled. Suddenly a creature was sprinting for us. "Uh Doctor, now might be a really good time for you to bet angry." "That should be easy... I'm always angry." Banner said and transformed. While he fought off the beasts, the plan was set into action. Natty was helping Tony and Spangles, while Thor and I flew to the tower.


	11. Lost Battle

Thor reached the top first, as I was killing Frost Giants along the way. At that moment a flicker of thought was directed to my father. If he could see what was happening, oh he'd be beaming with pride. Then again, he always seemed proud of me, even when I was doing something horrific. That was the whole reason why I was "daddy's girl" as some people would put it. A dumb term, but sadly fitting. I smirked as thought of the looks on my family's faces if they ever saw this. Anyway, I went about my murdering all along my route to the top floor, where Loki and Thor were going at it in hand to hand combat.

Quickly I rushed to aid Thor, when I was knocked back by another giant. This one was slightly larger than the others, and had an aire of authority about him. I could only assume who he was. "Laufey." I stated distainfully. He laughed in a deep, almost scratchy voice. "You know you're history well, child of Eric." My eyes narrowed. "Yes. And as I recall, you're son is a runt, a discrace to the family. So why are you helping him?" Loki glared at me. "Speak not of me that way, you mewling quim!" He shouted in his struggle with his brother. "Loki, I suggest you NEVER to call me a whining cunt again... if you value your life." Laufey laughed. "You quarrel like children. And in answer to your inquiry, I have my reasons. That is all you need to know." I lunged for him, tackling him to the ground. Laufey stared at me, mouth a gape. "You..." I had his juggular in hand before he could finish.

"WHY?" "He is... strong. He can help us defeat this world, and ultimately all the other realms." He explianed through my tightening grip. "Not if I can help it." I growled and nearly crushed his windpipe. But he suddenly gathered a surge of strength, and sent me flying across the room. I knocked my head into a wall, where I was sent into unconsiousness.

Loki POV:

Erica had tackled my... father... to the ground. Even for a daywalker, that was an incredible feet of strength. Not only that, but she had managed to nearly kill my father, insult me and threaten me all in a few moments. This woman fascinated me, and terrified me, and seduced me. Everything she did was sorcery, a spell across the mind of rationality. If I had any doubts about what I wanted with her up until that point, they were gone now. Erica was dangerous and murderous, and by the gods, she would be mine to tame. No matter what, I'd have her. That was why when Laufey attempted to kill the precious being, blacked out from head trauma, I stayed his hand. By which I mean I whacked him with my septer, hurling him away. "What are you doing, Loki?" "You may not kill her." I commanded. "Who is going to stop me? Why is she important to you?" For a moment I thought. She was a lot more trouble than what was normally worth my time, but I respected her in a twisted sense.

"She simply is." I replied. My father seemed to notice something in my expression, and he laughed mockingly. "Oh I see. That is how it is." What in the nine realms did he mean? "Alright. I won't kill your precious viking princess. I wi-" He was cut off by my non-brother attacking him. As they fought, I looked to see the battle ensuing outside. To my utter delight, we were defeating the small team with ease. The green creature was pinned down beneath a pile of dead beasts, and he was slowly shrinking. Excellent, largest threat eliminated. The man in tri-color was by the side of the woman, taking on a fleet too large to manage. Man of Iron's armour was too damaged, and he was ner collapse. This was splendid. Suddenly my brother was behind me, speaking to me.

"Is there no possible diplomacy, brother? Anything to end the bloodshed?" His voice was defeated, pleading. Nothing could have satisfied me more than to see my older, beloved non-brother begging for me to hault my attack. For once I was in control. "No there is no-" Then I looked to Erica, now awake, but too "dizzy" to stand. "Thor, what do you mean by _anything?" _"I mean exactly that. What is it that will bring peace to our worlds?" I smirked as an idea came to mind. There was one thing that I wanted enough to give my conquest up. Not to mention what I wanted was also the best way to solidify a treaty between all three worlds. My request would have to met, it was too perfect and almost necesary. Their hands would be tied.

Erica was looking at me as if she knew what I was thinking. Thor still had no clue, being the oaf that he was. "Erica?" I directed at the beautiful killer. Her eyes were full of realization and fear. It was better than Thor begging. My father was aware of what I wanted, and he couldn't say no. Thor had pummled him into a pulp. So he was defeated. I was free to make my demand. And I knew exactly what I'd be demanding for.

Erica POV:

I awoke with a throbbing pain in the back of my head. I groaned in agony, but was slightly amused by the sight of Laufey in a quivering mass of misery on the stone floor. Thor must have kicked the shit out of him. I smiled, but my attention was quickly turned to Thor and Loki conversing by the window. By the sound of things, our team was losing... miserably. Thor sounded desperate, which was never a good sign. "Is there no possible diplomacy, brother? Anything to end the bloodshed?" "No there is no-" Loki paused to look at me. Oh no. "Thor, what do you mean by _anything?"_ I was painfully aware of how much Loki emphasized the word "anything." Thor's reply was none too hopeful, as it seemed he was unaware of what Loki was refering to. Whatever it was, I knew I was the desired objective. "I mean exactly that. What is it that will bring peace to our worlds?" Oh no, Thor don't say THAT! Loki smirked. "Erica?" FUCK!

Thor seemed confused. "What about Lady Erica?" As if it wasn't obvious. Loki wanted me for something. A slave, perhaps. "Well, what I want and waht you want coinside. You want a lasting and solid treaty, and I want... well... her." "How exactly do you mean, Loki?" Thor wanted him to elaborate. I was afraid to even ask. "Allow me to explain." He smiled mischivously. "I am of Asgardian, and of Frost Giant blood. These two are at war. Erica is of Midgard, which is at war with my people. And there is one way that all three worlds can be at peace. You want a treaty, and I want Erica." This was bad. This was so bad. He was about to drop a bombshell. "What better way to seal a treaty, and ensure a long lasting peace..." Oh he was using political tactics for cohlateral. I was so fucked. "Than with..." Loki kept pausing, I think he enjoyed the agony of suspence on our faces. Here comes the bombshell. I was a slave, done deal. "A marrige." AAAANNNDDD, BOOOOOOOOOM! Wait, _marrige? _Suddenly "slave" sounded like paradise. Thor's eyes widened, Laufey's mouth dropped, and Loki grinned like a lunatic child on Christmas day. I should have just stayed knocked out.


	12. Negotiations

A few hours later...

"No! I simply will not do this!" I exclaimed, outraged beyond all belief. "Erica, you don't have a choice here. If this is what Loki wants, if your marrige to him is all that will bring peace, than that is exactly what will happen." Fury explained, a noticable frustration in his voice. Natty joined in. "It's not right, Fury. This isn't the 15th century, we can't just marry her off against her will! Where is your sense of equality? Respect? Chivalry?" It was comforting to know somebody was on my side. "That all went out the window the second we were losing our battle. If a treaty is not made, then our world along with countless others will be destroyed. And unfortunatly, our hands are tied. A marrige is the most efficient and effective way of forming a treaty, not to mention one of the oldest. Erica, for gods' sake, vampire marriges based soley on politics are a common practice!" "Yes, but those are vampires who have been alive for centuries. They stopped caring a long time ago about emotions and personal consequences! I am only 19, and I've yet to even live _one_ life. I actually give a damn about what happens to me and my body."

Fury shook his head. "Erica, there is simply nothing we can do. We have tried desperatly to pursuade Loki otherwise, but he is adamant. If you don't do this... the Earth and everyone on it is doomed. This is bigger than you, or any of us. I'm sorry but... you _have to _marry Loki." I searched for an argument, a way out of this predicament, when Thor came bursting into the room. Oh thank god, Thor woud back me up on this. He was honorable, he would not let this travesty occur. "Erica..." "Yes, Thor?" I asked hopefully. "The final negotiations have been worked out. Laufey and Loki have agreed to call off their army. Laufey has what he wants, which is of no concern to you. But what does concern you is that this treaty cannot occur without Loki's demand. In order for peace to be between us, it must be done. Your marrige to Loki is final." "WHAT?!" Natty and I screamed in unison. Of all people... of all the people who would actually want me to marry Loki, Thor was the one who I expected to be against it the most. Aside from me, of course.

"Thor, how can you... agree with this?! For gods' sake, you CARE what happens to Erica, unlike Fury, who could care less if she lived or died." Natty remarked. "HEY! I never said that!" "You didn't need to." I replied bitterly. "Sadly, this is bigger than us. It is for the good of both our worlds. You must understand that." This didn't make any sense. Thor was just giving in. It wasn't like him to submit to the whims of his enemies. Not in the stories, and not in person. "Why are you doing this?" I asked quietly. "Lady Erica, I don't know what you-" "You know damn well what I mean! Why are you giving in so easily? This isn't the way of an honorable Asgardian warrior, giving his enemies whatever they desire. Especially if what they desire is a WOMAN!" Thor looked almost pleading, and severly guilty. It clicked. "It's because he's your brother, isn't it? For anyone else you'd be fighting tooth and nail against it, but since it's Loki... I can't believe you'd stoop so _low_." I was thouroughly disgusted with him. He was throwing my life away for his evil brother, to "get back on his good side."

"Erica, there is more to my agreement than just that. Yes, he is my brother and I love him. But this is not just about my feelings." Something about the way he said that made me suspicious. Not just about _his_ feelings. What did that mean? As I was trying to decode his cryptic words, Thor began speaking again. "This is for everyone. Your world, my world." I was silent. I was fighting back a fit of cussing that would surely get me nowhere. Thor interpreted my silence for defiance. He said something that truly affected me. "If not for the world, then do it for your family." My family. I loved them, and I always thought I'd do anything for them. But would I remain true to my word? Could I sacrifice everything for their safety? Everyone was silent as I thought this through. If I didn't do this, my world was doomed. My mother, my father, my aunts and uncles, my cousins... my friends. To me, my closest friends were like my brothers... and one sister. For gods' sake, they helped me move bodies! All of them, everyone I loved would be dead because I was too selfish to put them before myself.

Thor made one final point. "Lady Erica, if you don't agree to this... as much as it pains me... I am willing to go drastic measures. If you refuse, I will not hesitate to drag you by your feet to the alter." That was an unfortunatly good point. I might as well go down with dignity. "Alright. But I want a chance to say goodbye to those I love." "Of course Lady Erica. I would never deny you that." "Unfortunatly, I must." Fury interrupted. "What the hell are you talking about?" Fury sighed. "Erica, though you are free to say goodbye to your temmates, you may not speak to your family of this." My eyes widened and my heart roared in anger. "Why the FUCK NOT!?" "Well, as this is a classified military operation, civilians can not know what takes place." "So what are you going to tell them? You don't think they'll notice that I never come home, or even call?" "We have proedures for situations like this." I raised an eyebrow. "We prepare for any eventuality, Erica. Don't act so shocked. We deal with all sorts of things the public never finds out about."

I nodded. I didn't want to know any more about that. "So what will you tell them?" "They know you work for the military, we'll send them an M.I.A. notice. After a few months, maybe a year, we'll say that we could never find you. That you are presumed dead." Oh how that thought made me want to clench at my heart. The thought of my loved ones faces was too much to bear. But I knew it was for the best. I nodded. "Good. Lady Erica, I am grateful for what you're willing to do. Loki and I must return to Asgard to prepare for the wedding. You will have a week to say goodbye to your friends. And also, just so you know, Jane will be returning with us." "At least I'll know somebody from home." I mumbled. "Good day Lady Erica. We will return on Sunday for you. I suggest you make the most of your time here. Once we go to Asgard, you may never return to Earth." I simply nodded. Natty patted my shoulder. Fury left us, saying we were free to return to the city. We did.

When we were back in the tower, I sat on the couch thinking of what Thor said. Not just about HIS feelings. I tried to make sense of it, but couldn't. Natty plopped down beside me with two shots of vodka. She handed me one. "I'm not even 20 yet, Natty." She forced the drink into my hand. "Erica, you were just betrothed to an Evil Norse god, and in one week you will never see anyone you love ever again. I don't give a damn what the legal age is. You, my dearest friend, are well deserving of a drink." I smiled. I raised my glass, which she did in turn. "Bottems up." I said.


	13. One week: Day One

MONDAY: Party Time!

The countdown begins. Natty had insited on throwing me a week long bachelorette party. Stark insited I have a continuous supply of alcohol. Bruce insisted that I not. Captian has been spending most of his time at the hospital with Coulson, so I didn't see him much. He was aware of the situation, and respected me for my sacrifice.

I was introduced to Clint, who was still a little woozy. He had a very large, purple bruise dierctly above his left eye. "Nice to meet you, Clint. I'm Erica. Natty has told me about you." He looked puzzled. He looked to Natasha. "I thought nobody was allowed to call you that." "No, I said _one_ person was allowed to call me that. Clint, this is Erica Northman, the girl I told you about from when I was at the brainwashing facility." Clint's eyes widened. "You're the one who broke Natasha out?" I nodded. "Well its nice to finally put a face to the name... and a lovely face at that." Clint winked. Natty smiled. "Hey there casonoba, don't get any ideas. She's taken." There was visible dissapointment on his face. I had to admit, it was quite adorable. "Sorry." He said sheepishly. "Don't worry about it. I actually appreciate the compliment."

We changed the subject to plans for the day. Clint made some suggesstions. "Okay, first off, we need to take you out on the town. You haven't exactly been able to enjoy the sights, with everything that's has happened. First we'll go the Natural history Museum. Then we're going to the statue of Liberty. After that we are eating lunch at the best pizzeria in town. Then we'll..." Natasha stopped Clint. "Fuck all of that tourist shit. Erica, we're going to _every _retuarant we can find. We'll eat until we are the size of cows and then eat some more. Then we go to the mall and find the sexiest leather outfits they have. When the sun goes down, we are going to the hottest club where we will get so wasted that by morning we won't have brain cells." "I'm not old enough to drink." She rolled her eyes. "We work for a secret government agency, and Fury owes you one. We'll have you a fake I.D. by lunch time."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Natasha, why are you so eager to do all of that? This isen't like you. You act like it's Erica's last day on Earth." Clint exlaimed. The room got very cold, and one could cut the silence with a knife. "Is it... your last day on Earth?" "My last week. I suppose you should know." "Know what? Natasha, what's going on?" She sighed. "When I said: "She's taken" I mean she's... engaged. Do you know why Loki didn't take us over?" "We beat him?" We shook our heads in a simultanious no. "What then?" "Loki would only accept a treaty... if it was in the form of marrige. To Erica. We fought as hard as we could, but our hands were tied. If she didn't accept, well.. we wouldn't be standing here right now. Barton... we owe Erica everything. She only has a week before the wedding. Since she is my closest and oldest friend, I plan on making this the best damn week of her life. After Sunday, nobody will ever see her again. She can't even tell her family, since this is all classified. She can't tell them goodbye. Erica deserves a damn good week." Natasha explained calmy.

Clint stared at us in disbelief. "You must be one of the most noble people in the world. It's an honor to be partying with you, Erica Northmnan." I smiled with gratitude. "As it is you, Clint Barton." "So you want in?" Natasha asked. "Hell yes. If Erica is willing to do something like that, she does deserve the best damn week of her life. Come on, lets go get shitfaced in your honor." He stated. Natty and I laughed as we headed out the door. We were going to get into some crazy shit tonight, I could tell.

Meanwhile In Asgard: Thor POV

"So Loki just gave everything up for a mortal woman?" Odin asked, as if it were the most shocking development in history. "No. She is not a mortal. Erica is half mortal, a half vampire. Her father is Eric Northman, otherwise known as Leif Erikson. She is of Viking royalty." I had to inform him of this. My father was apprehensive of this treaty, and was demanding my explanation. "She is a daywalker! Is that what makes her so special?" "No, there is more to her than that." "How so, Thor? What has she done to make him demand her hand?" I sighed. Though I despised what I had to say, it was true. "Father, Erica is implacable. She is a warrior, and true to her family. An honorable woman, respectful of all who deserve it. And she is blessed with a learned mind. Not to mention she is as beautiful as a woman could be in either of our worlds. In all honesty, if I was not in love with Jane... I would have coveted her for myself the moment we met. She... she is impossible not to adore."

My father and mother were deep in thought. "Does Loki lust for her, or does he actually care for her?" "I asked him why he wanted to marry her. I asked why he could not have just settled on a typical treaty. He... looked away. When I demanded an answer, Loki spoke as that of a man who has fallen desperatly in love. Loki looked almost frightened of his feelings for the girl. Saying how she intrigues, fascinates, and terrifies him. He was deprate when he said 'I must have her. I must.' The look in his eyes was pleading, and love stricken. I knew he loved her. Or at least cared for her deeply. He would never admit it, he is too proud to admit feelings for a Midgardian." My father thought a moment before speaking. "Why did you allow this? He has done monstrous things, and you're giving him a prize!" "That's just it. I feel that love may change him... bring him back. Just look what Jane has done to me." "Yes. But his head is much harder to get through. So is his heart." I smiled.

"Erica has managed to capture his heart and get him to come home to us. Imagine what else she could do for him." My parents whispered inaudibly and came to a conclusion. "Very well. Loki may marry this woman. But before the wedding, both of us demand an audiance with her. We want to meet the woman who has so captured Loki's heart. That in itself is a nearly impossible task." I nodded. "I am sure she will gladly speak with you both. I am glad you have agreed to let Loki marry." My parents gave me a curt, unified nod and dismissed me from the court. I smiled brightly at the thought of my family meeting the Viking Princess. One conversation with Erica, and my Kingdom will become just as smitten as the rest of the people who have met her.


	14. One Week: Day 2

Tuesday: Matchmaker

I woke up with an extreme hangover, but luckily I heal very fast. I was up at about 10:30, an unusualy late start for me. But oh well, Tony wasn't making me work during my last week. Deep down, he was actually an okay guy. I entered the kitchen, and discovered that Bruce was cooking himself some eggs. This was my chance to get him and Natty to say how they felt about one another. As unromantic a person I am, I felt it important to do some good before I left forever. "Hey. Good morning, Fluffy." I greeted. Bruce turned around, a confused and amused expression upon his face. He was adorable for somebody so... dangerous. "Why am I fluffy?" "Your shirly temple curls." He giggled under his breath.

"So, how are you? Anything new?" For some reason, I felt like starting the conversation off as casually as possible. "I'm uh... fine I suppose. You know, apart from being a monster that's feared by everyone. You?" "Good, aside from having to marry an evil Norse god in less than a week." Bruce half heartedly smiled. "Guess we both got the short end of the stick, huh?" I shrugged. "Yeah. But with you..." How did I word this delicatly. Natty didn't want me to say anything directly, so I'd have to be extremely vague. "People don't hate you, Bruce. Stark likes you, obviously. Captian likes you to an extent. I think you're a nice guy, so I like you. Hell, Natasha..." Loves him? No. Not quite, but she most definitly has feelings for him. Bruce suddenly became very interested in what I was saying. "What about Natasha?" "Yes, what about Natasha?" I heard a bitter voice behind me.

I whirled around, Natasha standing with a stern "Don't you say a fucking word or I will kill you" look. If it were anyone else, that glare would have made a grown man shit his pants. "Natasha, I was just telling Bruce that people aren't as afraid of him as he thinks. Most everyone here likes him, right?" Her face softened. She nodded. "Yes, Dr. Banner is well liked." I smirked internally. "Do _you_ like him, Natty?" Her eyes went back to being hateful. She knew what I was doing. "Yes. I mean, to the extent one comrad does another." Bruce looked dissapointed. "Say Natty, why don't we go eat breakfast in the living room?" I suggested. "Fine. We need to talk, anyway."

We left Bruce to his eggs, which were in the midst of being scrambled. Natty dragged me into the living room as soon as we were out of his sight. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Erica? I thought I could trust you!" She half whispered. "You can, which is exactly why you can trust me now. Look, you are my best friend in the world, and I want to see you happy. Before I go, I want to make sure you two find one another." "Why? Why do you want to play matchmaker? You don't even get a choice, shouldn't you be bitter?" "Because, just because I can't be happy does not mean I don't want to see you happy. If I can't have love, which I never wanted, then damnitt I will make sure the people I care about do! And I know for a fact that he has feelings for you. Just as you have feelings for him." Natty was silent.

She hugged me. "You are the greatest friend I will ever have. I can't stand to see you miserable." "You want to know how to make me happy?" She nodded. "Tell Bruce." "I can't tell Bruce." She stated. "You can't tell me what?" I heard. Bruce was behind me. Natty was blushing, and Bruce was confused. "You two need to talk. I'll just go." Natty grabbed my wrist, eyes begging me to stay. "Trust me." I whispered with a wink. She let my hand slip from her own, and I strolled into the hallway. When they thought I was gone, they began talking. Of course I could still hear, and I eavsdropped. I didn't care if it was wrong, they needed to admit it. If they didn't, I'd give them a push.

"Wh-what can't you tell me?" "Nothing Bruce, it's not important." Natty replied hastily. "Yes it is. Obviously, because you look so nervous." I swore I could hear Natty biting her lip. "Bruce, can we please just drop it? I need to get back to Erica, anyway." Oh hell no, I refused to be her scape goat. She had to tell him. I was jsut about to "remember" that I was spending the day with Stark, when Bruce cornered Natty. "Erica left for the sole purpose of us talking. Whatever it is you need to tell me, Erica knows about it. And if you won't tell me, I bet she will." It was silent for a few moments. "Well?" Bruce asked impatiently. "Bruce, I can't... this is too... humiliating." She studdered. "Why?" I knew she was blushing, I knew her too well. Bruce said: "Oh." "Oh what?" Natty snapped. I heard a weird confused "Hmph?" and some more muted sounds of protest. Then there were pleased moans rumbling from the back of Natty's throat. I looked and saw Bruce dipping Natty while he kissed her. She ran her hands along his back, one gripping his hair tightly. He had one hand supprting Natty around the waist, caressing her left hip. The other was forcing her face to his. I doubted they were aware of my presence.

I smiled, knowing I had successfully brought two people together. It made me feel oddly warm, as well as nausiated. Loving affection made me gag, but in this case I could stomach my distaste. Stark walked up behind me. "What are you-" "SHHH!" I commanded. "Don't-" I pointed to the couple. "Oh. Did you-?" I nodded. "Job well done." He whipsered. "Let's give them some privacy." "But..." I grabbed his wrist and led him away. "My work here is done." I said, smiling to myself.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: YES I KNOW THIS WAS A REALLY SAPPY CHAPTER, BUT IT'S ONLY BECAUSE I FEEL ERICA SHOULD SHOW HER LOVING SIDE. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. ALSO, SHE IS REALLY TRYING TO DISTRACT HERSELF FROM THE WORRIES SHE HAS ABOUT HER WEDDING. YOU ALL WILL LEARN ABOUT THOSE IN A LATER CHAPTER. ;) PLEASE, PLEASE, I EMPLORE YOU TO REVIEW. I LOVE REVIEWS!


	15. One Week: Day 3

WEDNSDAY: Visiting Hours

Stark and I entered the hospital that afternoon, with some pizza for Coulson. Poor guy was stuck eating hospital food, which was a step below common school food. A young nurse brought us to his room. Captian was sitting by his side, worrying over his injured form. "Hey guys." Coulson called weakly. "Hey Agent. We brought you some pizza." Stark said and held out the food. "You shouldn't have. But i'll still eat it. Want some, Captian?" Rogers shook his head. "No. You need your strength." Coulson looked to Captian lovingly. WHY wouldn't they just kiss already? I swear I will see them make out before I leave this rock. "So, I hear you're engaged to Loki." I nodded. "Tough break." "Yeah. Whatever. How are you feeling?" I didn't want to talk about that arrangement. With each day I was feeling more dread in the pit of my stomach.

He raised his hand and gently tilted it from side to side. "Eh, so so. The doctors say I'll be okay, but the progress is slow. I'm just glad Captian America over here hasn't left my side, and is keeping me company." I smiled. "I'm happy Spangles is keeping you company." Coulson burst out guffawing. Stark struggled not to laugh as Rogers slowly looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Really?" "Yeah. I give nicknames to everyone I like." "Oh? What are the others?" Coulson inquired. "Well, Tony is light bright. Natasha is Natty. Bruce is fluffy. Steve is spangles, obviously. Thor is... hmmm... tarzan." "Why tarzan?" "Tarzan and Jane. He sort of fits the description, too. If you think about it. Sort of animal like, got a loud battle cry. Not to mention his scruffy hair and buffness." Everyone nodded. "What am I?" Coulson asked. I was tempted to say "Steve's boyfriend", but that just didn't seem appropiate. "Philly. Philly cheese steak." Coulson chuckled.

"Let me know when you come up with something better, please." "I will Coulson. I will." Captian spoke up. "Okay guys, Agent Phil needs needs some rest. You all need to be heading back to the Tower." Tony and I said our goodbyes, I even gave Phil an awkward hug. I was out before Tony, who was there a few minutes longer. As I walked downstairs, I heard the faint laughing of Stark. I rolled my eyes and got into the car we arrived in. It was a classy black convertable, with pludh leather seats. Tony got into the drivers side, still smirking. "What did you say to them?" I asked, knowing Tony had not filter on what he said. "I said what you wouldn't say." "In other words?" "I said: Oh I get it, you all need some privacy. I'll leav you two lovebirds alone." I giggled. "Their responce?" "They rolled their eyes as if it was the most outragous thing they have ever heard." "Figures. You know what, If it is the last thing I do on this planet, I will see them kiss. Even if I have to press their faces together and pucker their lips with my hands."

Tony smirked. "Glad I'm not the only one who noticed it. Now, let's go get drunk." "Not on your life Stark." We drove off. When the silence set in, my worries returned to me. I felt like it was eating me from the inside out.

AUTHORS NOTE: I KNOW, SHORT AND KINDA DUMB. BUT IT WILL GET BETTER. PLEASE REVIEW!


	16. One Week: Day 4

THURSDAY: Letters

I finished the last stroke of the pen, and wiped my silent tears away. If I couldn't say goodbye in person, then I would tell them in writing. It broke my heart that I could only give them my goodbye this way. Sighing, I slid my papers into the tan evelope, and walked out to Natty. "Hey Erica! Why have you been cooped up in your room all day? Is it the wedding? Do you need to talk?" So sweet that she was concerned to me. Yes, god how I needed to talk about the wedding. But now was not the time.

"Actually Natty, this is a lot more important at the moment. Natty, I need you to do something for me. Something off of the S.H.I.E.L.D. radar." She suddenly smiled wickedly, as if I expected her to steal or kill. "What exactly do you want, princess?" "Okay, Im going to pretend that I didn't just hear that. But seriously, this is nothing violent." "Oh." She replied, dissapointed. I handed her the envelope. It was blank on the ouside. "What exactly is this?" "Letters. To my family." Her eyes softened. "So you want me to..." "Get them to my parents. I know it's not exactly what you had in mind, but it means a lot to me. Please." Natty nodded. My heart felt lighter, knowing I could at least give them some kind of closure.

"Wait, wait. You aren't telling them where you are, are you?" I shook my head. There was no way I'd be that dumb. "Hell no. That would put them in greater danger. But I did give them a few vague clues. VERY vague. Just things like "You won't ifnd me anywhere on _this_ world. Don't go chasing rainbows. And to my cousin: It is now appropriate to call me princess. Just stuff like that mixed in with loving goodbyes and fondest wishes." Natty smiled. "So I can call you princess?" "No... It reminds me of the marrige. I put that in there as a clue. A vague one." Natty understood. "When do you want it delivered?" "Right after the M.I.A. notice goes out. When is Fury planning on doing that?" "In about a month." I nodded. "Okay. Just deliver it during the day, when my father is asleep. Also, make sure you simply leave it on the kitchen table. Mom will think I snuck in or something."

"Why all this sneaky bullshit?" "My father is a viking vampire. You don't even want to know what he'll do to you if he thinks you had a hand in my dissapearance. Which he will. My father is very protective of me, just as my mother is. I just don't want anymore people getting hurt." Natty gave me a tight hug. "I will do just that, Erica. Of course I'll help you." "Thank you, so much." I breathed in a sigh.


	17. One Week: Day 5

FRIDAY: A Day in the Lab

Only two more days. I sighed. Things were really starting to depress me, considering I was going to miss everything here. I found myself being appreciative of every insignificant thing around me. The couch I was sitting on. The normality of looking out a window at the bright and noisy city. Even the taste of orange juice in my mouth. Tomorrow was the last day that I would do any of these things. Sunday I'd be taken away to a world my father had told me about as a child. Since he was (is) a viking, he told the stories with amazing, crystal clear detail. Back then, when all the little girls would dream of living in Cinderella's castle, I'd dream of going to Asgard. Fighting along side Thor and the warriors three. How ironic is that? Now it was actually happening, and it was for the one thing in life I despised. A marrige. An arranged marrige at that. Then again, nothing in my life exactly went according to plan.

I was _supposed_ to be normal, I was _supposed_ to not be a murderer, and I was _supposed _to be able to have children. Yeah, I don't want love, but I always wanted a child of my own to love. Of course before my dreams of having a baby were cruhed, I had accepted that I'd have to have sex. It's not like I don't have a sexual side, far from it. I just never enjoyed the idea of giving myself to another person. relinquishing all of my power to another. Yeah, no thanks. Now look at me. I was being married off, and to the most evil man in two worlds. My life may not have been exactly planned and expected, but I doubt anybody could have foreseen _this_ coming. This just... sucked. Just so much. Now I was just moping, staring into my orange juice as if it could solve all of my problems.

Stark POV:

I noticed my intern, Erica, staring at her orange juice the way I stare at a glass of scotch. She looked depressed, just down in the pit of a garbage heap. Nobody could blame her, she'd been handed the raw deal of the century. Fuckin' Fury. Agreeing to this bullshit. No wonder she gouged his eye out, the guy was an asshole to his core. I shook my head as she sipped her drink, then went back to staring off into space. I felt bad for Erica, which was highly unusual. Then again I've known her for about a year, and she was one of the three women who I actually respected. Probably the only one who was just as sarcastic and scientificly minded as me. Huh, she was like an even hotter, female version of myself. Younger too.

I decided to cheer her up. All this moping of hers was getting depressing, anyway. I didn't handle emotion well, neither did she. Another thing we had in common. There was only one thing I could think of doing to help her out, take her mind off of things. With clothes on, that is. And she'd never go for that, she has rejected every advance from every man who has tried. The only thing stopping me was Pepper, I cared about her too much to persue Erica. But if I didn't... ah she'd still reject me. It was a hopeless venture. Putting my sick thoughts aside, I walked to her. She's still fucking hot though. Don't think about her boobs, don't think about her ass. I had to remind myself.

"Hey Tony, what's up?" She asked in a sad voice. This was not normal for her. This wasn't my sassy, vibrant, smart ass intern I've come to know. Gah! I couldn't stand another minute of this! I have to get her out of this stooper of hers, its just too sad to watch.

Erica POV:

"Hey Tony, what's up?" I asked politely, trying to mask my emotions. Obviously it didn't work. "Alright, time for you to stop moping around. I've had enough." "I've only neen here for ten minutes." He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well you've been like this all week. We're going down to the lab." He said and grabbed my wrist. "Ah, Tony, are you really making me work?" He shook his head. "Oh no. This is for fun. You need a distraction, and we're building weapons." "Why? Why will that cheer me up?" I didn't think anything would. "Because I know you had a lab back home, and I know you spent weeks in there. Come on, stop arguing. It'll be fun, trust me." Starks' idea of fun usually consisted of getting into a lot of borderline illegal science experiments. What the hell, I was leaving anyways. "Sure, why the hell not." I gave in. Tony smiled. I knew that smile. He had some trouble in mind. Better prepare for the worst.

XXXXXXXXXXX

A few hours later:

"Okay, Stark, can you please explain why we're building a fleet of miniature tanks? They are too small to do any real damage, aside from causing a few bruises. What possible purpose do they have?" I asked. The tanks looked exactly like regular tanks, except they were the size of remote controled cars. They even had functioning launchers, only they fired ball barings instead of missles. Stark had a mischievous grin on his face, so I knew he was up to no good. "Oh they are part one of my plan to prank the shit out of Director Dickhead Fury." Miniature tanks were only part one? I was afraid to even ask what part two had in store for us. I should not have agreed to this.

He went over to a table, which had a large white sheet over it. Something was underneath, so I assumed it had something to do with this. "Behold!" Tony exclaimed, dramaticly revealing a number of... miniature catapults? Oh no. This was not good. "Um... what exactly does this have to do with the tanks? Although I'm afraid I know the answer." "You probably do. These are designed specificly to launch the tanks at their target. I have a remote that will set them off simultaniously. Same for the launchers on the tanks." Yep, worst fears were confirmed. "So you're planning to..." "Bombard Fury with flying tanks shooting barings at him. Yes." This was crazy, stupid, and would most likely end with harsh military dicipline. But for whatever reason, I felt up to it.

"You know this is probably illegal, right?" "Yep." He replied. "We'll get in a lot of trouble for this, you understand that?" He smiled and said "Absolutly." "And not to mention this is just downright moronic?" "Of course." I smiled back. "Alright, I'm in. Call Fury."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Stark had told Fury that he had a new weapons design that needed immediate attention. Fury was of course wary, but we smoothly lied and made everything sound ligitimate. He said he'd come if we shut up. So he came.

He entered the room, obviously irritated at us. "Alright, what is this all abou-" He saw what he had walked in to. A fleet of tanks on catapults aimed directly at him. "Jarvis, lock the doors." Stark requested with a smirk. The doors clicked shut. "Open these doors right now, you hear me Jarvis?!" Fury called, in a threatening voice. "I'm afriad I can't sir. Mr. Stark has programmed me not to listen to your orders. I'm truly sorry." Fury knew he was fucked. "Why tank catapults?" He asked hopelessly. Stark and I sneered in unison at him, each of us holding a remote. "There are a lot of answers to your question, but simply put..." We paused. " Because, FUCK YOU!" We shouted and pushed the buttons.

Fury was being pelted, and he tried to shield himself. "OW! OW! OW! MOTHAFUCKA!" He kept screaming. Stark and I laughed until we cried. Finally the downpour stopped. "Consider that payback for letting me be married off. BITCH!" I called as Jarvis finally unlocked the doors. Fury ran out, screaming about vengance for Stark, considering_ I_ was getting a shit deal anyway. But it didn't matter at the moment. I hadn't felt this good in... well... forever. Pepper came in a few minutes later, having heard all the noise. As soon as she saw the mess, she looked to us. "Do I even want to know?" I shook my head. "Probably not." "Yeah, I'll just... leave now." "Good idea." She went on her way, mumbling about Tony getting himself into trouble again. Tony and I high fived. That was best payback ever.


	18. One Week: Day 6

Saturday: Wedding Worries

Despite all that everyone had done to take my mind off of the arrangement, I was always drawn back into my worried state of mind. This wedding was changing every aspect of my life, and not in a good way. I'm giving up my family, my friends, and a few other things I wasn't proud of having to give up. The whole thing was just eating away at me now. One day. One day. This was happening to fast for me. By this time tomorrow I'll be married... married to Loki Laufeyson. It was difficult to even wrap my head around it. Erica Claudine Laufeyson. I shuddered. So many unpleasant thoughts. So many fears. Yet here I sit, doing nothing but wishing that this wasn't happeneing. How could I feel better? How can I make the anxiety stop?

Natty POV:

I knew Erica was worried. She was beyond it, quite frannkly. Though she tried not to show it, deep down she wa a nervous wreck. Oh how I wanted to help her. Erica was my best friend, and I so dearly wanted to make her stop worrying. Maybe if she just talked about it... yes. Erica neeeded to talk about what was troubling her, and there was a lot. Whatever it was specificly, I would listen.

Erica POV:

Natty was sitting beside me now. "Hey, Natty." "Erica, listen. Whatever worries you have about the marrige, now would be the time to tell me." I bit my lip. This was all so... personal. "I know it's doing a number on your mental health. Please, for my sake, just talk to me. I owe you for helping Bruce and I out." I sighed. I might as well... this was as good a time as any. "Well. Where do I begin? There is just so much whirling through my mind right now, I can barely take it all in." Natty put a hand on my shoulder. "Talk as long as you need to. We have all day. You need to talk about this."

"Okay. First off, I'm going to miss everyone terribly. That has been well established. But it's also... well... this will be my first time for a lot of things. And I have to trust Loki with some very personal things, which of course I can't do. Plus, I don't imagine a normal wedding." "How do you mean?" Natty asked. "Well, think about it. Loki is about as evil as they come, and I have personally beat the shit out of him. So I highly suspect that Loki is going to lock me up as a sort of vendetta. Just keep me in a dungeon until he gets board with me and kills me." "Erica, Loki wouldn't do that. One, his family would never allow that. Two, it would put him at too much risk for his own imprisonment. I imagune he is on very thin ice with his family. He wouldn't dare disturb that. So you have nothing to worry about there. I promise." I took a deep breath. Perhaps Natty had a point. But I still had a lot more that I was nervous about.

"What else worries you?" "I don't want to get married. I hate the idea of a large, romantic display of affection. Especially one that involves you sharing your life with another person. This isn't even about love, yet if Loki doesn't chain me up, I suspect the wedding will be huge. One, because the treaty will be verified by thousands of witnesses. Two, there has not been a wedding in Asgard for centuries. Not since Odin and Freya. My father taught me a lot about Asgard as a child, so that is how I know. In other words, I will be giving my life to a man I hate in front of thousands. Not to mention... I have to kiss him. Weddings there are much like those on Earth, from what my father told me."

"I know having to kiss him in front of so many people sucks. But it is not that bad." I shook my head. "But it is. Natty, that will be my first kiss." Natty dropped her jaw. "What?" "Yes. I have avoided affection because I despise it so. Now I must have my first kiss this way. What's worse, there are far more personal things that I must share with _him_. Considering I have never even kissed, it should not come as a shock that I have never..." I paused. "Natty, I must lose my virginity to Loki." Natty went pale. She wrapped her arms around me. "Oh Erica, I'm so sorry. If you would have told me, we could have found a guy..." "I don't want that either. A stranger is just as bad. No, I accept what I have to do. But the thing that concerns me most is that one day Loki will realize that I cannot bear a heir for him."

"So?" Natty didn't see the importance of the subject. "He will see that I am no longer useful to him, and I know he will tire of me. He will kill me. I just know it. Loki does not care for me. Or anyone. So my death will mean nothing to him." Natty was still hugging me. "Erica, I promise you nobody in Asgard will let that happen. You'll be fine. Although I am so sorry that you have to give up so much. At such... a personal cost to yourself." I smiled. "Thank you Natty. I feel a bit better jsut talking about it with you. I appreciate everything that everyone has done." I was sincere about the last part, though I still felt anxiety knawing at my stomach like savage teeth. "Today is my last day, let us not make it about all of that sappy shit. Lets' go out tonight. One last going away party." Natty smiled sweetly. "Sounds good to me."


	19. One week: Day 7

Sunday: Goodbyes

This morning was going to be my last morning on Earth. That was the first thought that went through my head when Iwoke up. Not the most plesasant start to the day. I tried to savor the comfort, the familiarity of the bed I was lying in. But I couldn't. In just a couple hours I was leaving. That was the arrangement, that I be taken in the late morning to early afternoon. I heard Loki was demanding it be as soon as I woke up, but thank god for Thor and his compasion. So I dressed in my favorite clothes, and went off to say my final goodbyes.

First I woke up Natty. She was drowsy, but instantly aware of why I was there. She hugged me, and even kissed my cheeks. "I'm gonna miss you so fucking much, Erica." "I know. Me too." I was released and she called to me on my way out the door. "Good luck." "Thanks." I said with a sad smile.

Next I went to say a quick goodbye to Bruce. Of course he and Tony were already down in the lab. "Hey guys." "Time to go, this early?" Tony asked. "Yeah. I will be leaving soon, so I'm saying goodbye to everyone now." Bruce shook my hand. "Goodbye. And thank you... for everything." I nodded. "No problem. Be good to my Natty, understand?" "Yes ma'am." Tony came and squeezed me tightly, holding on for a good two minutes. "Good luck, Erica. You were the best damn intern I had." "Thanks Tony." "Also, since you're leaving, you are fired." I laughed. "I understand. Bye, Tony." "Bye." I walked out to find Pepper.

She was working in her office as usual. She had always been kind to me, Pepper at least deserved a goodbye. "Knock Knock." I said. "Oh hello Erica. Come to say goodbye?" I smiled. " . Stark fired me, so I'm here to collect my last paycheck." Pepper rolled her eyes. "I am not surprised. But still... everybody appreciates what you're doing Erica. So thank you." "It's nothing. Bye." "Bye." After that I even went to say goodbye to Clint, though we exchanged little more than a wave.

The only people left were Fury, Coulson, and Steve. Fury didn't want to speak to me after the whole "tank" incicdent, and that was fine with me. I had nothing to say to him anyways. So I went down to the hospital.

"Morning Erica." Steve greeted. "Hey Erica!" Coulson exclaimed, sounding much more like himself. "Feeling better?" He nodded. "Yep." "Well, I came here to say goodbye." They looked to me with sadness. "Already?" "Yeah, I have about an hour or two before they get here, and I refuse to leave here without saying goodbye to everyone." I walked over to Steve. "Captian?" I held out my arms. He gave me a quick hug. "It's been an honor serving with you, Ms. Northman." "And with you." Then I gave Coulson a hug. "Bye Coulson. Feel better, okay buddy?" He nodded. I waved as I began my leaving. But then a thought stopped me. "Okay this has been bugging me all freakin' week. No disrespect, but this needs to be said." "What needs to be said, Erica?" Coulson asked. "Both of you need to get over yourselves and just... well... JUST KISS ALREADY! I have been watching you two dance around the moment for long enough, so just stop it. Please." I breathed out. That felt a lot better than I expected. The two men stared at me in shock. "That feels so much better. Alright, bye guys."

A few steps out I heard the unmistakable sound of smacking lips. Was it possible? I turned. They were! "FINALLY!" I screamed. Okay, now I could leave.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Thor was waiting for me outside the hospital. "Lady Erica, it is time." He said as he held out his hand. I took it reluctantly, taking one last look at the world I had grown up in. "Yeah. Let's go." I didn't want to get too emotional right now. Then again, I never did. As we rocketed towards Agrard, all I had time to think was 'goodbye, family'. I suddenly found myself face down on a smooth surface. A smooth... glowing, colorful surface. Thor helped me to my feet. As I looked at the sight before me, my head was filled with awe at the golden glory before me. Though this world was unknown to me, I felt almost at home. "Asgard." I whispered. This was even more beautiful than I had pictured it in my dreams. I was in my ultimate dream. Then I saw Loki standing there, smirking. No, wrong. I was in my ultimate dream, and my darkest nightmare.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I REALLY HOPE EVERYONE LIKED THIS ONE! PLEASE, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY IN WHILE, PLEASE REVIEW. I LOVE HEARING EVERYONE'S OPINIONS. (GOOD OR BAD)

P.S.: DING, DONG! I HEAR WEDDING BELLS FOR ERICA IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! :D


	20. Weddding Day

Loki POV:

The plan had worked perfectly. The dangerous beauty had been delivered to me, handed over by Thor himself. Erica was staring in awe at the kingdom, an expression that rather suited her nicely. "Asgard." She nearly whispered. She looked as if she had been recalling some cherished memory, I'd ask her about that one day. But for now I was deeply enjoying the fact that Erica despised marrige, and she had no power to stop it. Erica was mine. Thor could keep his Jane (who had accompanied us on our first trip back here.). This crowning beauty, whose intelligence nearly matched my own, belonged to me. The look of dread as she spotted me was priceless. She believed that I would harm her? Oh yes, I was going to have much fun with my lovely bride.

Erica POV:

Loki greeted me. "Why so nice to see you again, Lady Erica. Lovely day for our wedding, is it not?" I just wanted to punch him dead in the nose. But I couldn't. "Anything is more lovely than looking at you, you midgit frostgiant." Loki smiled even wider. "Sassy woman. You may be insulting me now, but in just a few hours you will feel my kiss upon your lushious lips." The bastard had a point, I'd give him that. "Touche, Loki." Two women in simple toga dresses appeared behind him. "They will escort you to meet Odin and Freya." I raised an eyebrow. "They wish to speak with me? Why?" Thor answered. "You are their future daughter in law. They want to have an audience with the woman who wil be marrying their beloved youngest son." I snickered. "Beloved my ass. If I weren't here right now, I have a feeling Loki would be in a dank prison cell."

Nobody responded. I must have been correct. The two women, both with hair in buns, escorted me through golden hallways and corridors of ancient statues. I was mesmerized by the sight of such alien artwork, crafted with such glorious beauty. Despite my current situation, I made a mental note to explore this place later. When we reached our destination, the two maids exited the room. "Lady Erica." A booming voice beckoned. I stepped forward and stared up at Odin, the allfather. This day, I thought, would never come for somebody in my family. Yet here I was. Out of pure respect I got down on one knee, hand diagnal across my chest. My head was down. "My king, what an honor it is to have this meeting with you." I meant that. Bowing was not something I'd normally do willingly, but this was ODIN.

"You may rise, child." I stood. "You are not what I was expecting." He stated. "May I ask why, Sir Odin?" "I was not expectig such an obedient woman. I would assume one in your situation would be either crying, or shouting angrily. Yet you stand here in complete diginity and respect. Explain." I nodded. "My parents taught me to be respectful of those who deserve respect. My father taught me about the Norse gods as a child. I have nothing but repsect for you, sir. And though this is not my ideal situation, I hold no feelings of matitious intent. For the good of our worlds, yes I know. So I can offer no word of protest to anyone." Odin seemed surprised. "You have quite a rational mind, especially for a woman that has caught Loki's attention. You seem so normal." "I am far from it. I am a half vampire, a dangerous and unstable being." I replied. "You are more stable than I thought you'd be." Odin was expecting me to be a nutcase? Well considering I have to marry Loki, that does not shock me.

"You also are less dainty than I imagined. I always pictured Loki bringing back a maiden, a damsel." I shook my head. "That is anything but me Sir. In fact, If I was here of my own accord, you would find me asking to fight alongside with you. If you found me worthy, that is. That has always been my dream, what I believed to be my one true purpose. Quite frankly, being a damsel sends my stomach into disgusted convusions." Odin nodded. "Eric, you surprise me. That is a rare quality, you see. You seem so honorable, and highly respectful. Nothing at all I would expect from a chosen bride of Loki. Not to mention how composed you are at a time such as this. A woman such as yourself would pose a challenge for my son. I see why he desires you so." I simply nodded, not wanting to make a snarky remark at this time."Thank you Sir." I noticed freya was not in the throne room. "Forgive my asking, but where praytell is the queen?" Odin motioned the two maids to re-enter. "She awaits you in the dressing room. She wishes to speak with you when the dress is being fitted." I scowled, god I hate dresses. "Is something troubling you?" Odin inquired. "I just hate dresses." To my surprise, Odin bellowed with laughter. "From your attire now, I could have assumed that. Fear not, it is only for the wedding. You may choose your clothing after today." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for your time, Sir Odin." He nodded as I was escorted away.

Odin POV:

A woman clad in black, loose clothing was brought to me. Her golden hair was much shorter than most womens'. Her height nearly equaled a normal Asgardian woman, another shock. Her body, from what I could see, was fit. Toned in a beautiful, graceful sense. And she bowed to me. None of these things I was expecting. She spoke respectivly, and spoke of a desire to be an Asgardian warrior. I was highly impressed. Her only complaint was having to wear a dress. Of all the things she could be upset about... her distain for such a frivalous thing was most amusing. Thor was right. She would be good for Loki.

Erica POV:

I was taken to lovely room, decorated with pale gold curtians and a full length mirror. To my left was a set of double doors, what I assumed to be the closet. Sunlight spilled onto the marble floor, lighting the room perfectly. A woman's voice distracted me from my observations. "Is it to your liking?" I whiled around, vampire speed. An older, matriarchial face greeted me with calm apprehension. "Lady Freya. Oh, forgive my sudden actions. I am not accustomed to being snuck up on. Old habits, I apologize." She nodded. "Tis alright. I understand this all must be unnerving for you, child." She was as sweet as I had been told. "I appreciate your understanding, Lady Freya." She smiled and went to the doors. "This dress was created just for you, Lady Erica. We designed it so that it would fit your form to preciseness. Also, we colored it accordingly." She pulled out a heap of gold fabric. Freya laid it out upon a table. The top was a sleevelss, gold corset, with dark green strings criss crossed down the back. It had indeed been customized for my body. "How did you get the measurements correct.?" "We had Thor borrow some information off the "shield" records. Everything was there." I found it alarming that S.H.I.E.L.D. would let Thor have those records. Oh well, no use in getting upset now.

"Do not worry Lady Erica. Thor took no more than the necessary measurements for a dress." How did she... oh wait. This was Asgard. She had centuries of practice to sense body language. I nodded in responce. I went back to looking at my wedding dress. The skirt... oh dear god the skirt. It was horizontally pleated, and made of the same shining gold fabric as the top. It flared out, poofing. The skirt was longer in the back, but was short in front. The skirt sloped in a teardrop formation, forming a point at the very back. Inbetween the skirt and top was an emerald green ribbon, which tied into a bow at the was a gold, frilly monstrosity. My family would be beaming at the sight of me in this this, especially my cousin Josie.

Freya had two maids assist in putting the dress on. My old clothes were taken to be washed. Despite the tightness around my midsection, the dress was comfortable. My legs were exposed to a few inches below my thighs in front, showing a lot more skin than I was comfortable with. But Freya insisted that it was going to be of no problems for me, aside from some admirers. "You look stunning, Lady Erica." "Thank you, Lady Freya." She went over to the closet again. This time she brought out shoes. They were gold flats, matching the dress. It had matching bows, green as a forest. Again, surprisingly comfortable. I stood to view myself in the mirror. I looked like a psychopathic princess. But it did look nice, I suppose. The top showed a little more cleavage than I prefer, but otherwise, I looked good.

"Now for one final thing." Freya said. She placed a diamond and gold tiara a top my head. Woven in was a veil, one that reached my waist. It was a filmy, green accessory, small emeralds scattered across the surface. Freya stared at me, nearly in tears. "You are a picture of beauty." She paused. "Lady Erica, I have a request of you." "What might that be, Lady Freya?" "Though you are not here of your own desire, I ask that you give my son a chance. No woman has ever gained his affections to such a degree. Perhaps he cares for you." I rolled my eyes. Loki, care? Those words shouldn't even be in the same universe together. But, out of respect for a loving mother and a godess, I agreed. She only wants what is best for her son. I couldn't judge her for that.

A few minutes passed before Thor entered the room. When I turned to face him, his jaw dropped. "You... you're... gorgeous." I smiled beneath my veil. "You look nice too, Thor." I complimented. Making the god of thunder struggle for words was as a good a compliment as one could get. Plus, Thor did look nice. His silver armor was polished for the occasion, he even wore his winged helmet. "Come, the ceremony is about to begin." Oh boy. I felt a little light headed. Thor took my arm, leading me to my doom. Freya walked ahead of us, making it to our destination long before we did.

On our way there, I had some time to think. Maybe it was the panick I was feeling that was sending me into delusion, but for some reason I thought of singing. My cousin Melody, who wanted to be a singer, often sung songs pertaining to the situation around her. She did so as practice, and as a way to calm herself. Concentrating on the lyrics helped to ease the tension of whatever was going on. It worked wonders with Melody. She even manipulated the lyrics to better fit the situation. I thought of this also because I was already homesick, and longed to see my family. I decided to try this techinque myself. And I knew the perfect song.

WARNING: LADY GAGA "MARRY THE NIGHT" SONG PARODY ON ERICA'S BEHALF! SKIP IF YOU WISH, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THIS BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT SO PERFECTLY FIT ERICA'S PREDICIMENT. IT HAS NO REAL STORY VALUE, JUST ME BEING SILLY.

I thought the lyrics to myself. My heart was racing, I needed some relief:

_I'm gonna marry toniiinght, gotta give up on my liiife_. _I'm a warrior... ugh... queen, lived passionatly til' tonight. I have to marry a dark, bigger asshole than Stark. __I was a soldier to my, own emptiness I used to be a winner. Now I'm getting married tonight. I'm gonna marry tonight. I'm gonna marry tonight. I'm gonna marry ton-i-i-i-ight. 'I'm gonna marry ... tonight. But I'm not gonna cry anymore! I'm gonna marry... tonight. I think my mind is about to explo-o-ode! I-I-gotta marry, I-I gotta marry, I-I gotta marry tonight. (tonight)_

_I'm gonna throw off my boots, replaced my leather with something blue, but wish I was on the streets that I loved, in my bloodstained gloves cause' I'm a sinner. Wish I could go down to my dad's bar, where I could drink till' I can't see no more. I'd hold my vodka up high, puke on the bartender twice cause I'm loser. _

_Now I'm gotta marry tonight. Gotta marry tonight. Gotta marry marry (marry) tonight! Won't get to kick ass anyomore! I gotta marry (marry) tonight! i think my heart is about to explo-ode. I-I gotta marry, I-I gotta marry, I-I gotta marry tonight. (tonight)_

_Life is soo cruel, why won't it take me from you? Back to New York, where there are all the friends that I ever knew. I guess love is my new, denim and black. I wish had a gun, cause I hear wedding bells in the attic! Get Pepper ready, because I'll come back to the front... I'll poke Loki's fucking eyes out if with me tries to make love! I wanna ru-uuuu-un, ru-uuuu-un, ru-u-uuuu-u-uun. _

_I gotta marry- marry... OH c'mon, Oh c'mon! TonIIIIII-i-i-ight! (repeats in head about 17 times.)_

I DO NOT OWN THE LYRICS! OR ANYTHING TRADEMARKED OR COPYWRITED!

I breathed deeply. I did feel a bit better. Even proud that I could think that up. But now was the moment of truth. Two incredibly large doors opened to an audience of Asgardian citizens. Men. Women. Childen. Every last one of them was looking at me, gasping and whispering to one another. I felt alone. Totally alone in this crowded room of people. For a moment, I think I blacked out. Loki was standing at the end of a very long, forest green isle. His armor was polished as well, it gleamed in the well lit room. He didn't wear his helmet, his ebony hair was brushed around his face. Normally it would be nearly plastered against his skull by whatever crap he put in his hair. How it was flowing freely around his face, he looked almost younger.

He smiled brightly as the music began to play. The tune was alien to me, but Thor helped me to keep pace with the beat. My stomach churned as we drew closer to Loki, I tihghtened my grip on Thor's arm. "You're okay. You're okay." I repeated to myself. Thor squeezed my arm, trying to reassure me. Suddenly I realized that we were at the alter. Thor had released me, placing my hand into his brother's. His skin was cold, it contrasted greatly with my skin. "You look so beautiful." Loki complimented. I nodded. He held my hands as we faced one another. Who was performing this ceremony? None other than Odin himself. Loki and I exchanged Asgardian vows, only slighlty different from Earth vows. A small child handed Loki two rings. His was a heay gold, a large oval emerald atop it. It meminded me oddly of a class ring. Mine was much smaller, but yellow gold and an emerald all the same. The gem was the size of a very, very expensive engagment ring.

I marveled at it for a moment before I remembered what came next. "You may now kiss the bride." Odin said. SHIT! Fuck. Loki lifted the veil, and cradled my face in his hands. Loki stroked my cheeks gently, and pulled my face closer. The room was silent with anticipation. Just kill me _now_. I pleaded to myself. He laid his lips upon mine. This was my first kiss. I was officially pathetic. His lips were cool, yet soft. They kissed a little more forcefully, his tongue daring to dart across my lips. It took every ounce of strength I had not to move, not to punch him in the gut. Finally he released me. The crowd errupted in cheers of enthusiasm. Loki sneered at me. I was his now, and he knew it. I just wanted to die. Right then and there.

The reception didn't seem nearly long enough, everyone besides Loki and I was drunk by nightfall. I didn't feel like drinking. I suppose if I had to lose my virginity to Loki, I might as well be sober for the experience. Loki was probably thinking the exact same thing.

Now that almost everyone was gone, Loki began leading me away from the party. It was getting late, so I couldn't use the exuse that it was too early to go to bed. We were in the hallway, Loki suddenly picked me up. Bridal style. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I protested. "It is a husband's duty tocarry his bride over the threshold, is it not?" I had no answer. The jackass was right. I was soooo not ready for this. We were in a very large bedroom, a fur bed right in the center of it. I was expecting Loki to throw me onto the bed. But he just gently set me down on my feet. Then he kissed my hand. "Goodnight, my wife." He purred. Loki began to walk out. "Wait, we're not... you're not going to..." "Against your will? Good heavens no. I would never force myself upon you, my bride." That was... not what I was expecting. "Then why did you take me here? Carry me into a bedroom?" "So you don't have to wander around the palace wondering where you sleep. Just being a gentleman, and carrying you was purely a tradition." He smiled. "I'll see you in the morning, Erica Laufeyson." He exited.

For about five minutes I just stood there like an idiot. Did that really just happen? Am I being punk'd or something? I was fully expecting Loki to burst in saying "HA HA! Just Kidding!" and throw me on the bed. When nothing happened, I found some comfortable clothing in a chest at the end of the bed. As I went to sleep, I couldn't help being totally taken off guard by Loki's reaction. What else did he have in store for me?

Loki POV:

The confused look on her face was priceless. This was working perfectly. I had succeeded in messing with Erica's mind, and if I continued to do so, she would eventually not know what I was going to do next. This was going to be fun. I will enjoy frequently fucking with my new wife's perception of me.


	21. Aftershock

The moment I woke up, I gasped. Had that actually transpired? Am I really here? The answer came when I looked around. Yep. I. Was. Actually. In. Asgard. And I was married. Holy god, I was married. This was real. This wasn't some fucked up dream.

I took a moment to observe my surroundings. My bed was round, set with maroon sheets and a white fur blanket. The pillows were white silk, perfect for laying your head against. At the foot of my bed was a golden chest, the same one I took my night clothes out from. Then I noticed that on each side of my bed was a balcony. Both were shrouded by maroon curtians. I walked out onto one of the two half-circle platforms. Looking around, I gazed at the magninficant emerald gardens and crystal ponds below me. Out further, I saw the rainbow bridge pulsating its light in a faint glow. The futuristic city was even more breath taking than I could ever have thought. Countless buildings of all shapes and sizes shone in the early morning. Somehow I figured that I would grow fond of these balconies.

My thoughts were distracted by a knocking at my chamber door. "Hello?" I called. "Lady Erica, would you care to join us all for breakfast?" I was highly relieved that it was Thor calling on me. Somehow I just couldn't handle seeing Loki at the moment. My mind was having enough trouble as it was adjusting. "Just a moment! I need to dress!" Thor waited patiently as I searched for clothing to wear. I found a pair of brown leggings, dark leather boots, and an olive green top. It was an elongated shirt, reaching below my hips. The sleeves reached my elbows. My ensemble was fitted more to my style than that gold thing I was forced into yesterday.

To my left was a bathroom (yes, Asgard has bathrooms, just more... grand and elegant). In there were all of the normal provisions, so I brushed my hair with a goldedn hairbrush. I met my... brother in law outside in the hall. I just remembered that my new family consisted of Norse gods. My brother in law was the god of thunder.

"You look lovely, as usual. But that is not exactly the way a normal princess dresses." I raised an eyebrow. "Point taken, my sister. You may wear whatever you choose." Thor led me to a grand dining hall. The table seated at least twelve people. At the head of the table was Odin, Freya sitting on the opposites side. Aside from them, Thor and I were the first ones at the table. Thor sat on the right side of Odin, and I sat beside Thor. Soon Jane entered the room, clad in fine Asgardian vestments. She looked more like a princees than I did. Jane sat opposite of Thor, who kissed her hand as a greeting.

"Nice to see you again, Dr. Foster." "Likewise Ms. Northma- Mrs. Laufeyson." My face went pale. Though I was aware of my new name, hearing it out loud just... made it all too real for me. "Are you well, Lady Erica?" Odin asked. "I am fine." I lied. No I was not fine. I was sitting at a dining table with Thor, Odin, Freya, and... Loki. Crap.

"Good morning, my bride. You are radient as usual." Loki purred. "Morning Loki." I replied bitterly. He smiled. "Did you rest well in your new chambers? I assume you found them too your liking?" I nodded. "Yes. I appreciate you escorting me. That was... kind of you." Jane looked back and forth between us, a confused expression upon her face. Something told me that she had questions about last night.

"Alright then, let us eat!" Thor bellowed as several plates were served. They held pastries, fine meats, fruits, bread... a true banquet. I'd have to get used to this. I felt almost uncomfortable being served my food on a silver platter. Literally on a silver platter. Still I enjoyed the Asgardian delicacies, not realizing how famished I was.

After breakfast just as I predidcted, Jane led me away from Loki and Thor, who were conversing. "So... what happened last night?" I shook my head. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened." "How do you mean?" Jane asked. "Loki took me to my bedchambers... and he- he said good night and left." Jane was shocked. "That's it? Seriously? He didn't try anything?" I shook my head no. "Wow, that wasn't what I was expecting. Thor had said..." She trailed off. "What did Thor say?" "Nothing, it's not important." "Yes it is. It's very important. Now tell me." Jane bit her lip.

"Thor had said that Loki's sexual appetite was incasible. He said he was expecting you to walk out this morning with a massive limp." My stomach turned. My head was spinning. That couldn't be true, could it? Please don't let that be true. "If it helps, I hear he's an exsquisite lover." I was near collapse. Oh what have I gotten myself into? From a far, I saw Loki sneer at me, as if he knew what I was thinking. Insacible... oh god.

AUTHORS NOTE: I AM SOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER. I'VE BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY THIS PAST WEEK. PLEASE FORGIVE AND REVIEW!

P.S.: WHUH OH! ERICA'S A BIT IN OVER HER HEAD HERE!


	22. Defense

A week into my marrige and Loki is still being polite, as well as respectful. It truly confounded me. Loki was never this way, he was never kind. This wasn't natural for the Norse god of mischief. I tried to ignore his behavior and be grateful, but it still nagged at the back of my mind. It was normal for me to anticipate how the enemy reacted (Loki being the enemy) in order to predict future attacks. But when the enemy was behaving abnormalily, it was near impossible to predict anything acuratly. So I was always on my guard for any sort of move. Sadly, Loki had the upper hand in this situation. He was... well... insane. Nobody can track madness, unless it is the descent into madness.

Loki was way past that point, so anything he did was going to catch me off of my guard. This dilema was going to cause me to go insane with him. I sighed. Here I was, sitting on a stone bench (common in Asgardian gardens) and trying desperatly to think things through. Was Loki being this way on purpose? Was he trying to confuse me? It seemed more than likely, him being a mischievous bastard and all. I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I whirled around to see Thor. "Hey Thor. How are you?" "I am well, Lady Erica. In fact, I have a request of you." My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What kind of request?" Thor looked genuinely alarmed. He was already well aware that I was always in full defense mode. I knew we would get along just fine.

"Do not be alarmed. I only request that you meet some very close friends of our family." _Our family_. I was never going to get used to that. But I knew instantly who he was refering to. "Lady Sif and the warriors three? Yes, I would be positively delighted to meet them." Hell, I was more than delighted. I was downright excatic. The idea of meeting the four most fierce warriors in Asgard was almost too amazing to be real. Thor took me by the hand and led me through several corridors in the palace. It would take me years before I could figure out the layout entirely. We found ourselves in a large room, golden walls (as usual) and a view of Asgard. On a large couch lounged three men. A woman was standing close by, arms crossed.

"So, you must be this royal princess Thor keeps speaking of." I nodded. "I am Erica, and it is an honor to meet you, Lady Sif." I bowed slightly. "Do not be so formal. We are friends." One man said. He was tall, sporting a mustache and well trimmed beard. Beside him was an overwight gentleman feasting on fine meat. Then there was a man who had an almost permemant look of sterness. I knew who they all were. "Come, sit." They offered. I did so. "How is being married to Loki?" I shrugged. "Alright... I guess." Thor laughed. "You guess? Ah, my sister, soon you won't be so unsure. Whatever Loki intends to be like as your groom, he will make it cear soon. I know my brother well." Really, he knew him so well that he was taken aback when Loki waged war on Earth and nearly won? I sighed.

"Lady Erica, Thor tells us you are quite a fighter." Lady Sif spoke. "I do enjoy battle." "Shall we test your skills? We have a room for such things." I smiled devilishly. Fighting with Lady Sif? Sign me up. "I accept."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Clad in Asgardian armor, we charged for one another. I leaped from the ground and pounced onto Sif. We slid across the floor. She whirled up and nearly grabbed my throat. Luckily I dodged her grasp and caught her hand. I pinned her arm behind her back. She kicked me in the shin with her foot, but I didn't reliquish my hold. She twisted around so our positions were revered. She laughed. Using all my strength, I head-butted her from behind, which sent her reeling back. She held her bloody nose in agony. But she wiped the blood away and charged again. This time I kicked her onto her back with a thrust of my foot to her chest. Before She could get up, I pinned her, Holding her down in a chokehold.

"Give in! Give up!" I commanded. "Never." She growled. She freed her arms and hurled me off of her. She grabbed her double-shafted sword. Oh now this was_ fun_. I dodged every swing, inventing new ways to contort my form away from her weapon. Suddenly an opppritunity presented itself. Her grasp slackened just a bit, and I stole her sword. Her look of genuine shock was priceless. She was now trying to escape my swings of her sword. She lunged to grab her beloved weapon back, but I used the blunt end of the sword to knock her on her back once more. I put a boot down on her chest, her sword at her neck.

"You are a formidable sparring partner, Lady Erica. We should do this again." I smiled brightly. I felt highly complimented. Plus, a little battling would be good to blow off some steam. "Yes, we most certianly should." I helped her up, and we shook hands. This was the beginning of a new friendship.


	23. Asgardian Cold

My sparring with Sif had become a daily routine. It was almost three weeks now. Loki and I had been practically avoiding one another. For that I was sincerely grateful. But today was different than most days. When I woke up, I felt absolutely awful. I couldn't breathe out of my nose, my throat ached, and my body was weak. Blinking, I found my eyes watering. What was wrong with me? I never got sick. After two hours of laying in my bed wheezing and coughing, Sif entered the room. "You have not come down for sparring, my friend. Is something troubling you?" One look at my face gave her the answer. "Oh. I'll get a healer to asist you, princess." As she turned to leave, I called out in an alien voice: "Wahait! W-whab's wrong with me?" What the fuck was wrong with my voice? "You have a cold. Now lay down." A what? I never get colds, or the flu, or anything! But my mind felt hazy, I didn't feel like thinking.

XXXXXXXXX

An older woman was examining me while Thor, Sif, and the warriors three watched. "Yes. She has a very serious cold. She just needs to rest for a few days, Erica will be alright." "That stiwl dosn't explwain how I'm sicck. I neber get sick, eber!" "It's an Asgardian cold, Lady Erica. A virus that is only native to Asgard. Your immune system isn't accustomed to this place. That's why you're sick." I nodded. Okay, that made more sense. Now I could just lay back and rest until- "I heard my bride is ill! I demand an explanation!" OOOh craaaap. Loki. That's just what I need right now.

He came bursting through the crowd around me. "Lady Erica, are you alright?" "I was fine ubtil yoou showed ub." He smiled down at me. "You are. Excellent." He turned to Thor. "Brother, have serving girls around her at all times until she is well. I don't want a single thing wrong with my wife." Thor nodded. Loki was being suspicious again. This niceness was really getting on my nerves. If he wanted to be a bastard, then he should stop this dumb charade!

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few hours later, Loki came in to check on me. He smiled sweetly, and sat down on my bed with me. "How are you, my dear?" "Down't call me dat." "Why ever not? You are my wife, correct? I am allowed to call you whatever I so desire." "Sowmmhow I don't beliiebe that you wanyt to caawwl me dear. I'd think you wanna cawl me a 'mewling quim.'" Loki chuckled. "Now I think that fever is going to your head." "I doon't hab a fever." I lied. Actually, I was hotter than hell. He put a hand to my forehead. "Oh my, you do. You-you're burning up, my wife."

Loki was silent, deep in thought for a few minutes. Then he climbed under the covers. "What da hell do you tink you're dowung?" "I am trying to cool you down." "Then get me sub ice!" "No, I think I will be quite sufficent." He said and snuggled up against me. "Why are you doowing tis?" "Because I want to make you feel better." "Whas ta real reason?" I asked. He simply smiled. His skin turned blue, his eyes red. "You weally awre ugly." Loki chuckled. He snuggled closer, practically spooning me. If I was any stronger, he'd be out of my bed and have a broken arm. But the sensation of cool envelopng my skin felt too good. Plus, I was exhausted. So I relaxed, and just let Loki hold me for awhile. I hated this. I really did. I hated him for doing this, but I hated myself more for letting him do this.

After a while I was dozing off. Loki was still holding me, still in his natural form. Just before I fell asleep, I could have sworn Loki snuck a kiss on my lips.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: SAPPY SAPPY SAPPY. MY APLOLOGIES.


	24. Morning Surprise

Loki POV:

I watched her sleep in my arms for hours. She was warm, feverish. This was exactly where I desired my bride to be. Powerless. Weak. And totally defenseless against me. I could do whatever I wished (and believe me I had _many_ ideas) and deep down she knew it. But I didn't. I would bide my time, search for the perfect moment to take my conrtol over her. Everything I have done has kept her suspicious, just as I planned. Only I knew when I would strike.

Erica POV:

I awoke, Loki still beside me. He was now normal looking, to the extent that a psychotic maniac could look normal. "Feeling well, my wife?" he asked with a smooth smile. I decided to have a little fun, because I was feeling better. Practically normal. Thank you, strong immune system. I swung myself over his waist, so he was lying on his back beneath me. "Oh, warming up to me, are you? Our sharing of the bed make you melt?" As if. I punched him in the face. "Ah, now that that's out of my system, yes. I'm feeing much better." Loki was already recovered, but his expression was one of pure shock. "Don't ever get into bed with me again. Got it?" He just stared, mouth a gape. But I recieved a small nod of understanding. "Good boy. Now get the fuck out of my room." He immediatly ran out.

Loki POV:

What the FUCK just happened?!

AUTHORS' NOTE: I KNOW, I KNOW. REALLY SHORT. BUT TRUST ME, THE STORY WILL GET BETTER. AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF IT'S GETTING TOO MUSHY. LOKI AND ERICA ARE NOT MEANT TO BE SAPPY LOVEBIRDS.


	25. Close call

Loki POV:

She-she hit me. That cunt hit me! She took me completely by surprise, and she hurt me after I helped her. Somehow that made her all the more attractive. Nobody had ever done something so undredictable that way. Why the hell had she done that? Her mind was ever a mystery to me. Oh how I wanted to get inside of her head, as well as quite a few other things. I would, eventually. I just needed some patience. And time. Both were things I had an abundance of, especially for the prizes I was after. Whatever it took, I'd learn her inside and out. Because she was worth everything.

Erica POV:

It was an amazing feeling, knowing I shocked the shit of the god of mischief. Dad would be proud. _Dad_. I missed my family. Oh well, I can't focus on the past. I exited my room, whistling a joyful tune to myself. Thor greeted me at one of the many palace doorways. "Well you seem quite well today. Are you healed?" "Yes, quite so. I feel much better now." Thor smiled a devious little smile. "What?" "Did my brother asist in your recovery?" I raised an eyebrow, praying he couldn't tell that I was mortified beneath my calm expression. "What makes you say that?" "Well... I saw you asleep in my brother's arms. He was stroking your hair, cooling you down. You must be very grateful." Thor explained. I held back a groan. He actually _saw_ that? "Nope, I punched him in the face." I said and walked off.

Even without looking, I could sense Thor's dumbfounded expression. I smirked at how shocking I was today.

XXXXXXXXXXX

A couple hours later, I was in the training room, knocking the wind out of the Asgaridan equivalent of a punching bag. With all of my newfound enthusaistic energy, I wanted to hurt something. Might as well be inanimate. Then I heard a voice from behind me. "Having fun?" It was Loki. "Not as much fun as I was having by punching _you,_ Loki." He smiled. "Yes, well, I was wondering about that. You didn't exactly give me a fair chance. How about a re-match?" He was challenging me to a fight? "Alright, you're on. Pick a weapon and lets get to it."

"Actually I was thinking this could be a hand to hand combat fight." My strength against his, with no weapns. Now that was simply unfair to him. "I accept." Loki suddenly dissapeared from the spot he was standing in. Oh, he was playing dirty was he? Before he could grab me, I whirled around and grabbed Loki by the throat.

"Quick... thinker... Erica." He complimented through my tightening grip. He used whatever stength he could muster to push off of me, kicking me squarely in the chest. I half gasped, haf groaned as he did so. Being kicked in the breasts hurt like a motherfucker. Loki was rubbing his neck when I recovered. This time I lunged for him. I hit him in the stomach, causing him to wheeze in pain. He sort of hunched over, and that was when I jumped on him. He landed on his already sore stomach. Loki craned his neck to view me.

"You seem to enjoy being on top of me. Any reason for that I should know about?" I slammed his face against the floor. "Ow!" He screamed. He pushed himself up off of the floor, knocking me onto my ass. Loki grabbed my shoulders and shoved me to the floor. He lowered himself to my level, so he could better attack me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as to reverse our positions. Loki took hold of my hips, propelled himself to his feet, and slammed me up against the wall. I braced myself for more of this assult, but none came.

Instead, Loki lowered my body a little. He moved us away from the wall, and dipped himself al little. Since he still had a hold of me, I dipped with him. What was he trying to do? Loki grasped the back of my skull, pulling my face closer to his own. OHHH. I tried to turn my face away, but Loki wouldn't allow me. I was closer now, keeping my lips in a straight line. I could feel his breath on my face, cool and crisp. Kill me kill me kill me kill me now. I just wanted to hurt him, beat him until he was a bloody mess on the floor. Now his lips were almost touching mine. If he got any closer... ugh. "Am I interrupting something?" It was Sif. Oh thank god.

Loki released me, and I hit him extremely hard in the arm. He winced and rubbed it. "No. We were just fighting some. In fact... how woud you like to join us?" Loki's mouth popped open. Before he could say anything, Sif bellowed:"Absolutely!" Saved from _that_ horror... for now.

Loki POV:

Damnitt, so close!


	26. Soft side

WARNING: FLUFFY SWEETNESS AND SOFT SIDE FROM ERICA!

Erica POV:  
That close call was the first of many. Loki had been attempting for at least two weeks to kiss me. But with each attempt (there were about 20 of them) I had successfuly kicked, punched, or slapped him in the face. By now I was extremely tired of Loki's advances, so today I wanted to explore the kingdom that was my home. Since I've been here, I have been learning the layout of the palace, a daunting task I must say. But now that I was familiar with my surroundings, it was time to see the beauty outside the castle.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

I had dressed in black tights, a dark red tunic with a gold trim, and gold colored boots to go out. At first I thought the outift was a little dressy, but to my surprise Thor said that I was dressed the way most average citizens dressed. I had not once dressed in the fine gowns that were in my closet. This was why he said the fist day I was here that I didn't dress like a princess. Thank god. This meant I wouldn't be noticed. The last thing I desired was to be singled out and bowed to. It made me... _extremely_ uncomortable. As far as I was concerned, I was no more a royal princess than Thor was a coward. My title suited me ill, and it would be nice to be treated like a normal person again.

As I wandered through the golden city, I took notice of how... futurtistic everything looked. It was as if I had stepped into one of those science fiction movies my friends and I used to watch. I felt a pang of home-sickness once again. God I missed my friends. The guys back home in Louisina, and my New York friends. Mostly I missed Natty and Tony. They were the ones I was closest to, even if (in Tony's case) our friendship involved little emotion. I found myself wondering, as I observed the sheek arcitecture around me, how they were doing. Were Natty and Bruce happy? Was Tony _ever _going to propose to his beloved Pepper? My mind drifted back through conversations and time spent with everyone I loved.

But in the midst of my revelry, I heard a faint crying on my right side. Looking in that direction, I found a small child sniffling, looking terrified of the world around. It was a little boy, no more than four, with a mess of dark brown hair and big hazil eyes. His face was round, and chubby with adolescent fat. He was in all black, save a small brown leather vest. "Hello there. What's wrong, child?" I knelt down to his height. "My-my p-parents... I can't find them! We were at the market, and there were a lot of people, and then I couldn't see my mommy, and then..." He was on the brink of bawling. My heart nearly broke at the sight of the poor boy. Despite everything else about me, I had always had a strong maternal instinct. I loved children, though I could never have one of my own thanks to my own biology.

"Where did you see them last?" He pointed to the left, where a hoard of people were crowded around a series of produce, meat, and fruit stands. "How long have you been here?" "I don't know. As soon as I lost them, I came here so they'd find me when they left... but I havn't seen them and now I'm scared because they havn't come for me and..." I put a finger to his mouth. "Shhh, shhh. Don't be scared. That was a smart thing to do. They are probably still looking for you. What's your name?" "Ivar." That was a very scandenavian name. Well, this was Asgard. "That's a nice name. My name is Erica." "I've never heard of somebody with a name like that." I smiled warmly. "Now you do. How about I help you find them? I'm sure they're still in the market." I held out my hand. He hesitated. "Come on, I won't bite."

He took my hand, and I lifted him up. I rested him on my hip, his head resting on my shoulder. We walked into the crowd. Ivar was clinging to me, as if he was afraid of the people. He was whimpering. "Don't be scared. You're safe with me." Ivar relaxed. We went from stand to stand, asking if anyone had seen his parents. Wvery answer was 'no'. After about an hour, Ivar was starting to lose hope. "Maybe they left to look for you out of the market. We should try out there." Ivar perked up. Just as we reached the exit, I heard a woman's voice calling "IVAR! IVAR!" Then a man behind her was doing the same thing. Both looked terrified. "Is that them?" I asked. He nodded franticly.

"OVER HERE!" I called, one hand waving. The two rushed over, and I handed Ivar to his mother. She kissed his cheeks, and squeezed him. "Oh thank you, thank you! Where did you find him?" "He was outide the market waiting for you two. I found him crying, poor boy was awfully worried. I offered to help him find you two, and we've been looking for the last hour." The parents exchanged confused glances. "Ivar never talks to strangers. He's scared of most people, in fact. What made him come with you?" I shrugged. "She's nice, mama!" Ivar answered. "What is your name, kind miss? We owe you our most sincere gratitiude." "I'm... I'm Erica." "What an odd name." I smiled. "Yeah, I've been getting that a lot." "You speak strangly too. What part of Asgard do you hail from?" Oh no, bad topic of conversation.

"Oh, I must be going now. My family is expecting me home for lunch any moment now." "Yes, we are." I heard from behind me. Ohhhh FUCK! Loki. The family immediatly bowed. "What is your buisness with my wife?" They gasped. Now the whole market was staring at me. "She- she just returned our lost son to us. She is very kind." I was looking at the ground, mortified. Loki, you fucking asshole. "Did she now?" Ivar spoke. "The pretty lady helped me find my parents." Loki chuckled. "She is beautifu, isn't she? Come now, princess Erica, our meal awaits." I took Loki's hand. "Bye Princess!" Ivar called. "Bye little one. Be safe." Loki was smiling at me the whole way back to the palace. "Why help the child?" "He was an innocent little boy. I had to help." Loki had an odd expression on his face. Amusement? Smugness? I couldn't tell.

Loki POV:

My wife had a soft spot for children. That was news to me. Down beneath her intense hatred for me, she had a love for families and babies. She wanted a baby. I could tell. And that changed my perception of her just a little. It made her, not weak, all the more strong. I admired her for her cruelty and cunning, but I now adored her for her unique heart. Maybe I could make her see me differently, too.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO, WHAT DID EVERYONE THINK? THE POINT OF THIS WAS SO LOKI COUD SEE ERICA IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT. BUT NOW SHE NEEDS TO SEE _HIM_ IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT. BEING LOKI, HE WILL COME UP WITH SOMETHING.


	27. Resolve

Loki POV:

My wife hated me. She truly did. And for whatever reason, I cared for her. She was unique in every way. In heritage, upbringing, intelligence, and in heart. She was powerful, and ridiculously beautiful. My recent discovry of her soft spot only made my burning obsession over her worse. It was driving me mad that I couldn't make her hate me less. It made me even more insane that I cared what she thought of me. I brought her here to have power over her, did I not? Yet here I was, wanting to please her. Why did I feel this way? Why did I not just make her do what I wanted? Because she was too rare and magnificant for that, and I repsected her.

I came to my resolve. I wanted her, and I would have her. She needed to be persuaded, and now that I knew her soft spots, I knew how to woo her. But I would... unforunatly... need asistance. There was only one person whom I could go to for such things.

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I burst open the door. "BROTHER!" I called to Thor. Though he was not my brother, it softened him when I called him so. "Yes Loki?" "I want to woo my wife, Erica." Thor smiled brightly. "Well done brother! I knew you'd do so eventually." I swallowed my pride in a painful gulp. I'd probably regret this later. "Yes well... you see, I can not do this alone. So, as much as it _pains_ me to say this... I need your help. And everyone else who is willing to help. I mean Erica no harm, I assure you that." Thor looked to me lovingly, and put a hand on my shoulder. Yes, I was already regretting letting him help. "Anything for you, my brother." He said.

AUTHORS NOTE: AGAIN, VERY SHORT. BUT... WHAT DOES EVERYONE THINK LOKI IS GOING TO DO? YOU KNOW HE'S DESPERATE WHEN HE ASKS _THOR_ FOR HELP.

P.S.: I LIKE THOR. NO DISRESPECT.


	28. Phase 1: A slice of home

Erica POV:

I was just returning from a sparring session with Sif, when I noticed my room looked different. A lot different. My bed... it- oh my god. OH MY GOD! This was my furiniture from home. Same red sheets, same white metal frame. Same oak vanity on the opposite side of my bed. The nightstand had my same old lamp. And in the drawers of my dresser were my old clothes. My closet was filled with them too. My combat boots! Then I noticed, on the nightstand, were my... my... family photos. I held one of them over my heart. It was one with everyone in my family. Josie, Melody, and I were at the center. Our three sets of parents stood over each of us. Nora stood beside my dad. Even Uncle Bill made the photo.

I was near tears. Then I looked on my bed. HOLY MOTHER OF FUCK MY IPOD! I was overjoyed. I never thought I'd hear my favorite songs again! By now I was beyond words. Most of my home was brought back to me, except... my family. I missed them, but this... this was incredible. I wondered why this was happening, if I was dreaming, but it didn't matter. I had my own slice of home. I put on one of my favorite songs, "Maneater." Melody always said it was my theme song, though I always disagreed. I guess I could concede on this one... for her.

Loki POV:

I walked down the hall, hoping to see what Erica thought of my gift. When I reached her door, I heard the sound of singing. Peeking in ever so slightly, this is what I witnessed. Erica was dancing, singing, and smiling. Genuinely smiling. She was unaware of my presense, so I listened to her. "_She's a maaaneater, make you work more, make you spend more, and you alll of-of her love! She's a maaaneater, make you buy cars, make you cut cards, so you wish you never ever met her AT ALL!"_ She was a lovely singer. I left her to enjoy her new furnishings. Though my family was asisting in other areas of my plot, this was _my idea_. "I'm a _genius."_ I said, smiling to myself. The first step was complete.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: OKAY, LAST SHORT ONE FOR A WHILE! AND THIS WAS ONLY ONE PART OF HIS WOOING. ALSO, LOKI WILL GET A LITTLE OUT OF CHARACTER. JUST A WARNING.

P.S.: I DO NOT OWN ANY SONG! (and I think I messed the lyrics up, too)


	29. Phase 2: Pursuasion

Erica POV:

"Sif, what do you make of this?" She shook her head, not believing what was before her. "I- I do not know, Erica. Do you know what- who did this?" I shrugged. "Who _would_ do this? And furthermore... why?" Sif pursed her lower lip out, thinking. "Well... Loki, perhaps. He is a magician." "But _why?_ Why would Loki do something so... thoughtful? Thoughtful. Loki probably dosn't know what that word means!" Sif shook her head. "Erica, perhaps you need to look further into this. Maybe Loki did this as a sort of-of apology for taking you here." "There are two problems wrong with your hypothesis. One, Loki is a heartless bastard who never apologizes for anything. Two, even if he did, there is no way in hell he'd go to these lengths."

Sif patted me on the shoulder. "Don't underestimate him, Erica. Believe it or not, Loki has a heart. It is just... hard to reach." I couldn't even register what my friend had relayed to me. "Are you actually defending him? Or somehow justifying his actions?" "Oh no, no, not at all. I simply mean-" "What? You mean what?" "I mean that if Loki is displaying an act of kindness, you might as well enjoy it. Do not questions such gifts." Okay, that made more sense. "Alright. But I don't know why you would take his side." Sif gave me a small smile. "You enjoy the room, correct?" I nodded. "Loki was the only person who had any reason for doing this, right?" Again, I nodded. "So, in a way, Loki made you happy." She exited my room. That wasn't like Sif. Under any other circumstances, she would be preaching alterior motives and trickster behavior galore. What the fuck was up with today?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A little while later I walked out to the garden. Why had Loki given me all of the things that I loved from home? And why was Sif not suspicous? It didn't make any sense. While I tried to sort out things, Jane sat beside me. "I heard about the room." "Yeah, strange isn't it? I mean what would possess Loki to do that?" "Maybe... maybe he cares for you?" Now that was even more shocking than what Sif had said. "WHAT?"

"I know, a little far fetched, but maybe. You are his wife." I rolled my eyes. "Not by MY choice." "Yes, but why _did_ Loki want you as his bride?" "Easy, he wants to see me suffer. He took me here because I humiliated him, and he wanted to seek revenge by forcing me into a marrige and keeping me away from my family." I muttered. Jane laughed. I swear to god, she _laughed._ "Has your life been all that bad? Has Loki even tried to hurt you... outside of that sparring you two did?" I had no answer for a couple minutes. "He's plotting something. I can tell." I finally said. "Erica, he took you, a 'mortal' to Asgard, he has treated you like a lady, and gave you your valuabes. What type of plot could he have?" "Something more horrible than I can possibly imagine." Jane sighed. "From what Thor has said, Loki's interest is difficult to peak. You are here, with him. You must be pretty special to him."

"Now that's just a lie!" "Is it, Erica?" "I'm asking Thor." I stated as I stormed out of the garden. Maybe he'd have an explanation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"He cares a great deal for you, Erica." Thor said. "Not you too!" Jesus, why was everyone taking Loki's side? Or saying he cares for me? "Who else believes so?" "Sif, of all people. And Jane. Both of them say Loki did that beause he has feelings for me. FEEINGS! God, Loki is an ice monster from the frozen depths of hell. The only emotions he can register are hate and jealousy." "Then why did he do this, then?" "To get into my pants." Thor raised an eyebrow. He still had not heard all of the "midgardian" phrases. "To consumate the marrige." I explained. "You mean you have not done so already?" I shook my head. "That does surprise me. It is unlike Loki to refraim from his desires. Especially with you... his wife."

"Yeah well, I don't know what to tell you." "Erica, you understand not how big that is. Loki must respect you much more than you realize. He cares for you, he really does." I rolled my eyes. "Yeah right." "Erica, listen well. My brother may be misguided, and cruel at times. But somehow you have managed to gain his affections. That is an accomplishment you have yet to aknowledge as nothing short of a miracle. You mean much to him. Please believe me." Thor grabbed my shoulders, and looked me dead in the eyes. His expression read desperation, and love. I sighed. That pitiful look got to me.

"I'll _think_ about it." I said and left. Why was everyone egging me on to give Loki a chance. Especially Sif. Something had to be up with this.

Loki POV: The day before

"Please, I care for her, please persuade her." I pleaded with her closest friend here. "How do I know that I can trust you, Loki? How do I know that you aren't out to hurt her?" I sighed. Thor had convinced Jane to asist me, as well as mother. Odin would only help if Sif agreed. "Sif, can you not see his eyes? he only desires to make her happy." Thor added. Despite my burning jealousy and soft hatred of Thor, I admitted he was a vital asset to my scheme. I did want to make Erica happy, I wanted her to care for me. I wanted her so much that I was near insanity. She drove me mad, yet enthralled me. Erica was cold, yet only on the surface. Her only true hatred was hatred for me. At this point I was willing to do anything to change that.

"Sif, I give you my word." "And what good is your word, Loki? God of lies?" I took a deep breath. For Erica. "If I ever hurt her, in any way, I give you permission to kill me." Thor and Sif gasped."What? Brother you cannot be serious!" "But I am. If I so much as lay a finger on her, you may end me, Sif. That is how much I want to please her." Sif stood gaping for what seemed like an eternity. "Do you promise me that?" I nodded. "Alright, I will agree to help you." She held out her arm so we could seal our agreement. "But never forget this agreement." "I will not." I replied.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: OKAY, I FEEL AS THOUGH I WAS A LITTLE DRASTIC THERE. PLEASE TELL ME IF I WAS. AND ALSO, ERICA IS NOT AS COLD IN REGARDS TO LOKI AS SHE SEEMS. YOU'LL SEE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! ;)


	30. Phase 3: Dream Invasion

Loki POV:

I was at a loss. For once in my life, I was at a loss. I wanted to see how to make Erica lo- care for me. There was no way I could simply speak with her. She trusted me none. I couldn't blame her. If only there was a way to peek into her mind and glimpse her subcons- I had an idea. OF COURSE! I had to speak with my mother immediatly. She was "Freya the Witch" after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mother?" "Yes, Loki?" "I have a favor to ask of you. Regarding Erica?" Her eyes narrowed. "Do you wish me to cast a spell on her? I will do no such thing." "No, not exactly. I- I want to see her dreams." "Her dreams? Why?" I sighed. "It might help me to better understand her. I promise I won't hurt her. I just need to see her mind ungaurded." Mother's face softened. Perhaps she heard my sincerity. "Alright. But harm her none, understand." "Yes, mother." If there was one other person I cared about in the nine realms besides my Erica, it was my mother. She never favored either of her children, unlike my so-called 'Father".

Mother set out a series of spell books, consulting those on the sight of one's dreams. After an inconcievable amount of time, she came upon one that suited her. "This will allow you to view what she dreams. You will be wherever she concieves she is, but you may not interact with her." I smiled. "That is perfect. I cannot thank you enough, mother." "You care a great deal for her." I nodded. She said that tonight, as I slept, the spell would be put into work.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

So she said it was, so it was. My mind was gone from my body, entered into my Erica's. It shocked me. Whatever I was expecting to see, it was not this. I found myself standing in a forest, coated in snow. There was a meadow, where Erica sat. She was dressed in a lovely white fur cape, and a dark red snow outfit. Her cheeks were tinted pink, just as the tip of her nose. Her hair shone in the golden sunight, dusted lightly with fallen snowflakes. The image was so vivid. She was just as beautiful as she was awake. Only her eyes were soft, relieved of the icy hate she held for me. She was peaceful... happy. I had no idea that she loved winter so much. I would have to keep that in mind for the future.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard a rustling of the foilage. What was the next element of her slumber? A small figure was skipping to Erica, dressed in a pale blue dress and white snow boots. The figure had a hood, and it's back was to me. Who was this? "Mommy?" The figure called. It was a little girl with the voice of a harp. Erica smiled, more than I'd ever seen her smile before. God I longed to make her smile that way. I watched the girl make her way into Erica's arms.

I sighed. It was Erica's unyeilding desire for a child that persisted in her dreams. For a moment, I wondered if the girl looked like her mother. Erica kissed the child's head. "I love you mommy, I brought you some flowers." The girl handed Erica a bundle of red roses. "My favorite, thank you Nytt." Nytt? The girl's name was Nytt? What a lovely name for a girl of Erica's. "Your welcome, mommy." Erica loved roses? Interesting. "You are so beautiful and sweet. Just like your father." I felt a twinge of jealousy for whoever fathered her baby, though she was not real.

But then a breeze blew, sending one of the roses a few feet from me. The little girl ran to retrieve it. In the process, her hood fell to her shoulders, revealing a flood of... raven black? I was expecting blonde. Then as she stood with the rose in hand, I saw her face. The mos enlightening and hopeful sight I'd ever laid eyes on had been presented before me. Her lips were small, and pouty. Her cheeks were full, nearly red from the iced weather. She did have Erica's nose, and jawline. But when I saw her eyes...my mouth popped open. They were the same shade of emerald green as mine. As Nytt examined the rose, a small smile creeped onto her angelic little face. Not Erica's smile, no. But mine.

Just then I came to a realization. My heart was beating franticly in my chest. She must care for me. I had hope now. Erica dreamed of _our child._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Erica POV:

I had that dream again. The same dream I've been having for the past two weeks. Ever since that little boy I met in town, my hopeless longing was back. Not only that, but the child was Loki's. I felt ever the more disturbed and upset. Why was this happening?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: NYTT IS SWEDISH FOR 'NEW'. AND IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY, FREYA IS IN FACT A WITCH. SHE'S NOT A 'BAD' WITCH, JUST POWERFUL. ALSO, WHAT DID EVERYONE THINK? I FIGURED THE ONLY WAY FOR LOKI TO LEARN ABOUT ERICA WAS BY SEEING HER WHEN SHE THOUGHT HE COULD NEVER REACH HER. WHAT A DISCOVERY HE MADE! NEXT CHAPTER HE GIVES HER A GIFT, ONE THAT WILL TOP EVEN THE THINGS FROM HER CHILDHOOD. ;)


	31. Phase 4: A warrior's Gift

Erica POV:

My life was very confusing by this point. Loki was giving me these oddly thoughtful gifts, and everyone was persuading me to give him a chance. But why was I having these dreams of Loki's baby? I hated him from the bottom of my heart, and nothing could change that. Just then Sif came into my bedroom. "Lady Erica, the warriors three and I request your presence immediatly." "Why? Is something wrong?" SHe shook her head, a bright smile lighting up her face. "No. We have a gift for you. Come with me." She said, holding out her hand. I was intrigued. What sort of gift could I be recieving?

XXXXXXXXXXX

In the grand room where the warriors lounged, a box wrapped in tanned leather awaited me. My warrior friends stood to one side of the room, gesturing for me to open it. The box was the size of the chest that used to lay at the end of my Asgardian bed. Perhaps it was the same chest. I studied the box for a few minutes, looking over the shape and proportions. "Come on, open it!" Sif called. I removed the wrapping, and threw open the chest. My heart stopped in my chest. My mouth struggled to form any sound other than "Uh... I... oh..." and my hands were trembling. In the box was an Asgardian suit of battle armor. Not just the kind used in sparring, custom. I slowly held the chest piece up to my face. It was similar to Sif's, only golden and made for my body. I had a golden helmet, which I put on. It fit to near perfection. The helmet covered my hair, and the bridge of my nose. It had a small ridge atop it. Below that was a shield, again gold, but set with small points and sharp edges. I was given a pair of, well, Asgardian combat boots.

"Try it on!" They encouraged. I did. I wore a light tan shirt below my armor, and olive green leggings. There were pieces that covered my ebows, knees, wrists, and my shouders. Oh my god, I looked like a true warrior. "One more thing." Sif said. What could possibly be better than all of this? Then she handed me the crowning glory of my ensemble. My weapon. It was a double ended sword, with a black leather grip in the middle. "Congradulations, you are a warrior! You may fight with us." For a minute I was speechless. "I... I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am. How did you even do this? Isen't it uncustomary for a royal princess to be a warrior?" Sif nodded.

"Yes, but considering your skills... the king was convinced." "You convinced him." Sif's expression changed. "Well... I am not entirely the reason. Sure I tried to persuade him... but the person who truly convinced him that you were worthy was... well... Loki." "Loki? Loki convinced Odin to allow this?" I asked, bewildered. "Yes. He is the reason you are wearing that armor." My face went pale. "Lady Erica, are you ill?" "No, uh...no. I just need to talk to Loki." Sif nodded. "I'll take you to him."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Loki was sitting in the garden, smiling as he saw me in my new armor. "You enjoy my gift, my wife?" He asked smugly. I slapped him across the face. "OW! Why did you do that?" "Because I don't need you to fight my battles for me. I could have proven myself all on my own." "You DID. I just... gave Odin a push for you. Are you not happy?" His expression was hurt. I felt the urge to pity him, and maybe apologize. That was a little uncalled for. I sighed. "I am. Thank you." I said bitterly and stormed away. It was a fake bitterness. I was starting to hate him less. I might even like him... no. NO Erica. YOU CAN"T BE WEAK NOW! YOU _**CAN"T!** _

Loki POV:

My face still hurt. Erica was impossible. After dreaming of our child... she was stubborn. That was part of the reason I lo- why cared for her. But my gifts weren't working. Ugh, I unfortunatly had to seek advice once more.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I HOPE ERICA WASN'T TOO MEAN IN THIS ONE. SHE IS FIGHTING EVEN HARDER TO DENY ANY POSITIVE FEELINGS FOR LOKI. NEXT CHAPTER, LOKI TALKS TO THOR ABOUT WHAT HE'S DOING WRONG. AND HE HAS AN IMPORTANT ANSWER. ;)


	32. Questions and Answers

Loki POV:

I walked ever so slowly to Thor's chambers. He was the only one whom I would speak with about Erica. He knew more of romance than I did, considering all of the women flocked to _him_ throughout our lives. Another reason for my jealousy. I pushed it aside, for my quest was of far more importance to me. This past week I had been showering Erica with gifts. Not to mention my kindness to her from the beginning of our marrige. She had feelings for me, I knew she did. I wanted to make her see it. I_ needed to._ I knocked on his heavy metal door. _clink clink clink._ My knocks sounded. Thor opened. "Loki? What is your buisness here?" He asked kindly. "Erica." I said simply. Thor knew immediatly how urgent my voice was. So he stepped aside and allowed me to enter.

"What troubles you, brother? I am always here to help." Thor. Depsite everything, he was still treating me as a brother. I had to appericiate that. Perhaps it wasn't his fault that he was favored above all others, maybe his forgiving nature was the reason behind it. "Erica recieved her gift today." "And?" I sighed. "She slapped me." Thor burst out laughing. Right, now I remembered why I couldn't stand him. "I apologize brother, it is just that Erica's antics are most amusing."

I shook my head. I supposed that he was correct. Erica was humorous, as well as enchanting. "Now why did she strike you in such a manner?" "She said I was fighting her battles for her. That she didn't need my asistance." Thor thought for a moment. "Erica is a fierce warrior, and she seeks independence. It is through no fault of your own that she reacted that way. It is in her nature. I should have warned you. I am sorry." "Alright. You are forgiven. But now what do I do?" "How do you mean, Loki?" As if my words weren't clear enough to him. "I _mean_ what do you believe I should do next?" Thor nodded but was silent. It was obvious he wanted me to continue my speaking. "I have tried every sort of gift I can think of. All of things Erica desires most. My persuasion technique is coming to no avail. I... I don't know how to make her see that I care for her." I admitted.

Thor was once again silent for several minutes, before finally coming to his resolve. "You have been too subtle in your approach, Loki." Subtle? "How is that? Look at what I have given her! How can she possibly ignore everything?!" Thor placed a hand on my shoulder. "She does not believe you to have good intentions. That is how. She sees you as a man who's sole desire as a result of your gifts is... well... to consumate the marrige." "Oh." I said simply. I suppose I couldn't blame her. I wasn't exactly trustworthy. "But how do I make her see? How do I fix what her views are?" "There is one way I know of, but you will not be pleased." I shook my head. "Anything,_ brother_." I emphasized the word.

"Loki, you must be more direct. In Jane's words, you must "go for broke. Lay all of your cards down on the table at once. Show her you care for her in a way that she can't possibly ignore." I was slightly puzzled. What exactly was he saying I should do? "What are you telling me to do, Thor?" "Loki, are you in love with Erica?" He asked suddenly. No question could have silenced me faster. It was finally being called into question. Did I love Erica? I fell onto a chair, and buried my face in my hands. My head was spinnig with every possible way to deny it, to cast the emotion away. But I couldn't. I simply couldn't. I had to admit the truth. "Yes." I said quietly. "Then tell her." "What if she does not believe me?" "If you truly love her, which I know you do, you will make her believe you." I gulped. My stomach was uneasy.

"Do not be afraid brother. She cares for you, whether she says so or not." "When should I tell her?" I asked. "Now." Thor replied. I stood up. My soul was filled with a new drive. She needed to know. I went in search for her, burdoned with my glorious purpose.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Erica POV:

Why was he doing this? Why was Loki showering me with all of these gifts? And furthermore, why has he been so kind to me from the start of this marrige? It seemed as though I had to ask him. Yes, I did. I stormed out to find Loki, and confront him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: IT'S OFFICIAL! LOKI LOVES ERICA! NEXT CHAPTER LOKI ANSWERS ERICA'S QUESTION. AND TELLS HER HOW HE TRULY FEELS. ;)

P.S.: ANYONE WHO GOT THE FAMILY GUY REFRENCE, THUMBS UP FOR BEING AWESOME!


	33. Love and war

**Ellize Avalon:** actually, that is a wonderful idea! I actually didn't think of that, and I have decided to use that scenario in this chapter, with a twist that is. ;)

WARNING: CONATAINS GRADE**_ A_ **MUSH. BE PREPARED. LOKI IS WAAAAAYYYY OOC.

Loki POV:

I'm not sure when I fell in love with her. Maybe it was when she saved that little child, or when she fell asleep in my arms. No, I think it was before that. Possiby on our wedding day, when I saw her walking down the isle. Or... maybe it was even earier than that. Perhaps the moment I knew she was as intelligent as me, and when she brought me to my knees, I was doomed. I belonged to her now, I was hers forever. Now I needed to tell her. A fear was bubbling in the pit of my stomach, knowing what I had to do. It sickened me that I was afraid of her responce, yet that made me love her all the more.

But where was she? Gah, it was impossible to find anything in this vast palace! Out in the gardens, I found Sif. "Have you seen Erica?" "No. Why do you ask?" "I- I need to tell her something very important." Sif smirked. "Which would be?" "You know damn well, Lady Sif." Her expression mellowed and darkened. "I do not care for your tone." "I don't care for _you._" I retorted. "Touche. Go find your lady love yourself." I growled in irritation. Then I stormed to the palace. Perhaps she was in her quarters.

When I did not find her there, I decided to look in the sparring room, where she often was. Again, no luck. Where in the nine realms had she roamed to? I kept up my search until I ran into the warriors three, laughing in a group. "Have any of you seen Erica?" "Yes, she went searching for you a while ago. She said she had to ask you something." My heart fluttered in my chest. Perhaps Erica had gone searching for the same purpose I had. No, that was nonsense. "Does anyone know which way she went?" They all pointed to the rainbow bridge. "There?" "She told us that if we saw you, we should tell for you to meet her there." I smiled. "Excellent!" I said and ran to the bridge.

Sure enough, my wife awaited me at the very beginning of the bridge. "Hello, Loki." She stated. Her voice was not pleased. My heart sank. She was never going to love me the way I so deary loved her.

Erica POV:

Loki looked almost sad when I greeted him. I didn't understand why. "Why have you called me out to the bridge, my wife?" I took a deep breath. "I need to ask you something." "What would that be, my bride?" _My bride. My wife_. God I wanted to kick him in the teeth every time he said those words. They have not bothered me until recently, but now they were like nails to a chalkboard. Those titles made me feel... odd. But I had more important things to attend to. "Why all the gifts? Why all the kindness? What sort of ploy is this, Loki? Because whatever it is you want, you need to tell me right now." I demanded. I hoped my voice was affermitive enough. He stood there flabbergasted for a few minutes.

"Well?" "I- I uh... actually have been meaning to tell you something. I've been looking for you, in fact." Huh. I wasn't expaecting that. "Well, tell me." "Erica, what... what I have to say is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to say to anyone. It is infinitly important and I need you to try and listen." He explained. I rolled my eyes at how frightened he looked. Loki was ridiculous. "I'm listening." He paused. "I... Erica...I... uh..."

Loki POV:

It was difficult. My words of such value seemed to be stuck in my throat. How I so dearly wanted to tell her. She needed to know how I felt. But I was afraid, more than I've ever been so in my entire life. Why did this terrify me so? This was unlike me, it went against everything in my being. Silver tongue, quick wits, and easy with words. Yet here I was, standing here as if I was a love-struck moron. Wait... that was exactly what I was. That is Erica's power. Her true power. More so than her strength, her mind, or even her heart. It was her ability to make a man tonge-tied and slow-witted. I adored her even more at this realization, which I didn't think was even possible. I loved her so much. Unfortunalty, my evergrowing admiration only worsened my situation.

"Well, do you have something to tell me or not! I can't stand here all day listening to you studder like an idiot." How correct she was. Time for the truth to be told. Though I was afraid to say it. "Erica, I-" I was cut off by Sif and the warriors three running to us. "Lady Erica! We need your assistance immediatly! A bilgesnipe is attacking citizens in the city!" Erica replied with "Oh dear god! We must go, NOW!" She ran off, completely forgetting my existence. I was frustrated, and yet... relieved. Maybe I wasn't ready to tell her... yet. "I love you." I whispered to the empty air, knowing she couldn't hear me. Then I followed her.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Erica POV:

I had quickly suited up, eager to try out my new armor. We took horses to where the attack was, and the sight was horrific. A snarling beast had destroyed many buildings, and innocent blood was splattered about the streets. I heard screaming in the distance, fleeing citizens. The bilgesnipe was as hideous as I had been told in the stories. Huge, ragged teeth, bulging red eyes, and chafed gray scales. It's paws were coated in blood, claws black beneath the crimson bath.

We all raised our weapons, and came up with a battle plan. "Sif, you distract the bilgesnipe while these three act as back up. Get any remaining people out of this area, while I take on the monster." My comrads nodded, and we set our plan into motion. Sif had indeed distracted the creature long enough enough for me to make a surprise attack. I leaped onto it's back, just missing a long column of pointed spikes on it's spine. At first I tried to stab it with my weapon, but its hide was too thick to break through.

The others had quickly dispatched any remaining citizens, and were attempting to aid me. But their proading and swinging of their various battle weapons was only making the bilgesnipe even more agitated. I struggled to stay on its back, even trying to hold on to one of the spikes. Sadly, that only resulted in a deep gash on my right palm. Luckily I healed very quickly. But I lost my grip and fell to the ground. The fall (about 20 something feet at least, that thing was huuugeee) had left me disoriented. I couldn't reall see, my hearing was muffled, and I could barely move. I don't know how long this state lasted before the creature was attempting to claw me open. My vision returned just in time to see... LOKI... stab the bilgesnipe in the left eye with his septer. The monster reeled back, covering its bleeding eye. I was vaguely aware that Loki had just saved my life.

But soon I was normal, standing and ready to fight again. My comrads were relieved to see me recovered, and anxious to battle. The impared beast was near collapse, but then it saw Loki. Somehow the creature was aware that it was Loki who had injured it. The bilgesnipe ran for Loki, who was trapped against a wall. As the beast got closer, I grabbed my weapon. At fisrt I knew I owed him a debt, and this would instantly repay it. But as soon as I saw it lunge for Loki's throat, I snapped. Nobody was allowed to hurt him but me. I refused to let anyone harm him. I felt a twinge of pure hatred, and firey desire to murder. At that moment I knew that I cared for Loki. I would never tell him, but it was there.

I used every ounce of strength I had to drive the double sword through the empty eye socket and into the bastard's brain. The beast let out a ferosious cry of agony, before falling to the ground, dead. It woud take weeks to repair the buildings, and lives were lost, but the beast was dead. We cheered for several minutes. Then I looked to Loki. I walked to see how he was. "Are you okay?" He nodded. "Thank you, for saving me." "No, thank you, for saving _me._" I nodded. Then a thought occoured. "What was it that you wanted to say to me?" His eyes were struck with some remembered fear. "I..I uh... I..." He continued to studder for a while. But I grew tired of waiting. "Look, if you don't have anything to say that won't waste my time, then I have no idea why I'm standing here." I explained and began to walk away. What was his problem?

Loki POV:

She was walking away. The women I loved was walking away. My window of oppritunity was closing to tell her, and it was shutting faster with each step she took. _Come on, tell her. _I thought to myself. I opened my mouth, then immediatly shut it. _Tell the woman, she has a right to know!_ Alright, alright. I took a deep breath, and slowed my franticly beating heart. "Erica Wait!" I called. "Not listening." She replied, not looking back. Now I had to do it. Now. NOW. NOW damnitt! "I LOVE YOU!" I screamed. I heard it echo thorugh the city. The warriors stopped to stare at me, and Erica stopped dead in her tracks.

Erica POV:

"I LOVE YOU!" _LOVE YOU! LOVE YOU! _His call echoed through the empty streets. It was suddenly dead quiet. Did he... did he honestly just say that? I whirled around, to see Loki demanding my attention with his eyes. "I love you, Erica Northman." Did he just use my maiden name? This couldn't be real. This couldn't be true. Another lie from the god of lying. Well I wasn't falling for it. "And how am I to believe THAT? You are LOKI, god of mischief and lies. The trickster of tricksters. Liar of liars. Stop weaving lies, liesmith. There is nothing you can do to prove such a statement." I spat back bitterly.

Loki POV:

She was right. How was she to beieve ME, of all people? My power was now my curse. There was nothing I could do to convince her of the truth. My heart was broken. I didn't even notice when my cheeks became wet.

Erica POV:

Loki was looking at the ground. He must be ashamed of his useless fib. It was disgusting. "Look at me, liesmith, and tell me the truth." He slowly met my gaze. And what I saw shocked me. He... Loki was crying. Silent tears were streaming, pouring down his face. No, no no no. "I am in love with you, Erica Northman." That was when... that was when I believed him. "Oh shit." I said. I had made the god of lies cry. Worse, I had made him fall in love with me. That was it for me. Those tears of genuine sorrow. I ran to him, and wrapped my arms around him. He stumbling back a little, but held me back. He squeezed me as if I'd dissapear at any moment. "I believe you, Loki. Shhh, shhhh, don't cry." He stroked my hair. "I love you Erica." He said as he held my face up to his. I stared into his emerald eyes, and his beautiful face. I felt a jolt of electric emotion shoot through me. Followed by a deep warmth which radiated through my core. I wanted to hold him, to be with him, and make him happy. "I love you, Loki." His eyes once again filled with tears. But of joy. This was it. I belonged to him now, I was his forever.


	34. Love and Lust

WARNING: FLUFF AND SMUT. ENJOY!

Erica POV:

THE NEXT DAY

I paced around my room, trying to contemplate this new feeling. LOVE. I was actually in love. What does this mean for me? Will love change who I am? Will it change Loki? For whatever reason, the idea terrified me. I was so not used to feeling like this, and I was vunurable. Or I thought I was. Then I decided to come to my resolve.

Alright, so I was in love with Loki. Big deal. That doesn't mean I'm going all soft. He was in love with me too. SO WHAT? That does not mean that he was going to continue showering me with gifts and get all sentimental...

"Erica? Darling, may I speak with you in the gardens?" Loki asked.

I turned around. Loki stood in my doorway, a mischievous gleam in his jade eyes. His smile was soo beautiful, and he looked so adorably giddy. My heart recieved another shot of warmth. No wonder I loved him.

"Why Loki?"

"I have a surprise for you." He replied happily.

"Oh boy. Are you getting into more trouble, Loki?"

He laughed, heartily and sweetly.

"No, no. Just come with me, you will be very pleased." I rolled my eyes and took his cool hand in mine. What did the mischief maker have in store for me?

He led me to the door which led to the gardens.

"I hope you like it." He said quietly and opened the door.

I gasped. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen... next to Asgard itself, of course. The garden was frosted over with snow. In the middle of September. The delicate flowers were sprinkled with frozen water dropplets, which sparkled in the sunlight. The trees had icesicles hanging from the branches, like crystals. I was enjoying the little snowflakes melting on my skin. Astonished, I looked over to Loki. He was grinning from ear to ear, proud of his work.

"How did you...?" I started to ask.

"I had a hunch." He said with a shrug.

Winter had always been my favorite season, and it often was a theme in my dreams. This frozen wonderland was the sweetest gift anyone had ever given me.

"Thank you." I whispered. I almost felt a tear fall from my eye, but I held it back. Suddenly I felt a cold, wet blob hit me in the back of the head. I turned to see Loki molding a snowball in his hands.

"Oh you're going to get it now!" I screamed. Loki sprinted to the other side of the garden as I attempted to strike him with my own snow. He dodged it, and returned fire. I summer salted under a frozen bush, avoiding his aim.

"You can't hide from me, Erica!" Loki teased. I grabbed an armful of snow and began rapidly tossing globs at him. Soon his hair was soaked, and clinging to his face. I laughed at him. But he got me in the face with one of his snowballs. I mean directly in the face. Realizing his mistake, Loki screamed and tried to run away. But I was already caught up to him, and pinned him to the ground.

"Is it funny hitting me with snowballs, Loki? In the face?"

He was snickering uncontrollably.

"S-s-sorry! I didn't m-mean to-o-o!" He studdered while still laughing.

Then I gabbed another glob and smeared his face with it.

"How do you like it, huh?"

Loki grabbed onto my hips and rolled so he was on top of me.

"I _love it_ when you are happy." He replied. Then he gave me a quick kiss on the lips. Then he stood to brush the snow from his clothes. Loki held out a hand and helped me up. "And I love YOU." I said.

"Come on, let's go inside and warm up. I'll start a fire." I suggested.  
"Ony if I can snuggle with you, Erica." Loki replied with a wink.

I rolled my eyes. "Let's go, lover boy." And we did. Loki and I snuggled by a fire in my room for a few hours, even falling asleep in one another's arms.

XXXXXXXXXXX

That night, after Loki had left my quarters, I checked the garden. The snow was gone, replaced by a roaring fire. Thor, Sif, and the warriors three were gathered around it. "Hello everyone!" I called.

"Lady Erica! Come join us." Thor patted an empty spot for me.

I heistated, not sure if I should. "Come on. You killed a bilgesnipe with us, you are one of us. Join us for some ale." Sif generously offered.

"Alright." I said. I plopped down, enjoying being included. Thor handed me a pint of ale, which I sipped. Holy god. I chugged deeper. This was the sweetest, most delicious alcohol I had ever tasted. The flavor was spiced, and almost sugary. It took a half hour to consume the whole thing. I was handed another.

We drank and joked for a while, just having a grand old time. After a couple hours, the others were pretty lit. I had set my limit at two, not wanting to end up doing something stupid. After the drinks had started to kick in, the warriors three were getting awfully flirty. Nothing serious of course, just harmless flirting that was going to lead nowhere. I had played along, I didn't see the harm.

Loki POV:

Those warriors were trying to court my wife! How dare they? How dare _she_ let them! I watched this disgusting display with incrasing fury. All of my life, it felt as though anything I had wanted was taken from me by somebody who was more adored. Whether it was my brother, or the warriors three, or even my father! Somebody else had to have my object of affection, but not this time. Erica was mine. MINE! And it was about time I reminded her of that fact.

Erica POV:

In the middle of our laughing, Loki showed up. He was standing behind me. "Heya Loki, whatcha doin here?" Sif asked. He ignored her. Loki's expression was one of determination. He suddenly scooped me up, bridal style. I was taken off guard by this sudden move, and nearly fell from his arms.

"Loki. WHOA! What the hell are you doing?!" He looked to me.

"I am doing my duty as your husband and consumating our marrige." My heart jumped, my stomach sank, and my mind screamed.

I craned my neck to see the rest of my group still laughing and drinking merrily.

"Thor, a little help?" I asked, pleaded. He looked up at the sight before him.

"Go get her, brother!" He called to Loki. The rest whooped and whistled, knowing what that ment.

Well they were going to be no help at all. "Loki, this really isen't-"

"YES it is. Seeing as you seek attention elsewhere." Oh my god.

"Loki, are you jealous of my friends? Because of the flirting? Aw, don't be. I belong to you. You know that."

He stopped and stared at me, his expression sweet.  
"Do you mean that?" I nodded. I hoped he'd set me down, but instead he continued walking.

"Loki-I-I thought you understood!"

"I do. If you truly belong to me, then you will make love with me." Oh god. Oh dear god.

I was terrified. I had never had sex, and this... this was just... oh god. Loki carried me past my bedchamber, and into his own. I had never seen it before, and it was quite nice. The bed was green, gold, and white. The floor was marble, and a large fireplace was at the end of it. Loki set me down, and shut the door.

He ran to me, and grabbed my face. In an instant his lips were on mine, exploring them with an eager passion. He forced my mouth to open, and allowed his tongue to penetrate the inside. I pulled away.

"Loki... I don't know if I can." Loki was already undressing, his cape had been thrown to the floor. Then his vest. His shirt. He stood before me, his upper body exposed. It was more than I had ever seen of him. His muscles were toned beneath his alabaster skin. He was not as buff as Thor, but he was still... very attractive. I stared at his chest, watching it heave with each breath. His pectoral muscles bore a small patch of hair inbetween them.

"You can, Erica." Loki said.

He was near me again, slowly undoing the strings of my black vest. I let it slip off of my shoulders, and on to the floor. My dark brown shirt was all that remained on my chest. Loki let his hands slide under it, pulling it up over my head. He fondled my bare breasts, as I looked away and bushed. he chuckled. His fingers caressed the tips of my nipples, and I felt them stiffen at his touch.

"You enjoy that, do you?" He asked seductivly.

Now his hands were sliding down my sides, and removed my tights. I stepped out of them, standing naked before Loki. His eyes widened, and his mouth drooled with delightful lust at the sight.

"You are sooooo beautiful." I heard him compliment.

He told me to lay down on the bed. I did so. I laid perfectly still, waiting for Loki to climb on top of me. He didn't. He was standing near the bathroom.  
"What are you waiting for, Loki?" I asked. He smiled devilishly.

"I have one thing I must do. Wait one moment." he held up his finger in a 'wait' gesture and entered the adjoining room.

Alone, I contemplated my situation. Was I going to go through with this? Yes. Did I want to? Well, considering the state of my being (I was feeling a low throbbing between my legs) that was a yes. Was I afraid? Hell yes.

It didn't help when Loki re-entered the room.

"Ready, my wife?" He asked. I turned to see him.

I gasped. Not only was Loki unclothed, he...he was in his _natural form._ His skin was blue, his eyes red. I was surprised that I hadn't passed out. Especially when I saw... his...err... manhood. Oh boy.

"Loki...You can't be serious! You can't expect me to- l-like that?" I gestured to his body.

"Oh yes." He whispered. Loki strutted to me, and indeed got into bed with me. I shuddered at how cold he was. It felt... perfect.

Though I was afraid, I was also very very excited. Loki had placed himself between my legs.

"You are my Erica, MINE." He whispered in my ear.

XXXXXXX

Thor POV:  
Sif and I were roaming the hallls, searching for Erica and Loki. After what seemed like an hour, we came upon some odd noises. Sif and I looked to one another, starting towards the room where the noises had originated.

We each placed an ear up against the door. We soon realized what was going on. Erica was moaning in rythems, and Loki was grunting primaly.

Sif giggled. "She is finally making love with Loki. I hope she was prepared."

I shook my head. "Whether she was or not, knowing what has happened to Loki's previous lovers...She is going to be _sore _in the morning."

Sif and I continued our walking, allowing the couple their privacy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO HOW DID I DO? I WANT TO KNOW. BAD? GOOD? SO-SO? THIS WAS MY FIRST SMUT CHAPTER, AND I WANTED TO GET IT RIGHT. ALSO, WAS THE FLUFF FLUFFY ENOUGH? FEEDBACK APPRECIATED, THANKS GUYS!


	35. Morning AfterMiracle

Loki POV:

My bride was sleeping soundly by my side. She was as unclothed as I had ever seen her, the dark green cloth concealing only her most private of parts. The fire light danced and flickered over her exposed hip, distinguishing the elegant curve of her figure. I was beaming with pride at my wife. And myself, of course. She helplessly enjoyed my love, despite my... natural form. I was proud of her for accepting me so entirely, allowing me to take her virginity. (I was utterly shocked that in every way she was not innocent, that she remained _pure._ I had expected that some man had come along before me, but it was not the case.

It was as if she had unintentionally awaited my arrival into her world, and was saving her precious self for me. Of course I had to fight my way into her heart and body. That was another reason she was unique. Her love was hard to gain, but that made it all worth it when I did. Especially now. For somebody so inexprienced, she was quite in tune with my desires.

I hoped she'd be alright. She was in a bit of agony at first, not accustomed to me or anyone else. Then again, all the women I've slept with had a difficult time adjusting to me. I smirked at the thought. But I actualy cared if I hurt my Erica. The others I didn't, for they were common Asgardian harletts. I had been gentle with my bride, but she woud still hurt for a couple of days. Slowly I drifted into slumber, holding my fire-skinned love in my arms.

Another thought occured. She was opposite of me. She was burning, I was freezing. She was fire, I was ice. She loved the cold, and I loved the warmth. But in a way we were the same. She and I were both monsters, and killers. Neither of us trusted anybody. Neither of us believed in love. Yet here we were, two beings from different worlds, brought together by fate. My final thought as I was slipping away was this: "By god, we are meant for one another. We are soul-mates."

Erica POV: The following morning

My first thought when I woke up was:

"Holy mother of god, what the hell have I been doing before this?!"

I mean sex was... _the single greatest thing in the history of anything_. No wonder Stark had enjoyed it so much. Loki was _amazing._ Mind numbingly, perfectly perfect at making love. I mean, it hurt at first. I shuddered at the memory. The tissue giving way, a slight trickle of blood as Loki stared in shock. He thought I wasn't a virgin. But once the pain of that passed, as well my body adjusting to Loki, it was uphoria. I felt a little light-headed remembering the rest.

Loki was already up, and re-dressed.

"Good morning, my wife. How are you?"

I tried to stand, discovering I was incredibly sore.

"SORE as HELL." I groaned. Walking, I realized I could barely do so. My pain was still there, only in a dull throb. I limped to retrieve my clothes. Loki laughed.

"I see you have some trouble commuting. Shall I carry you?" I rolled my eyes.

"Something tells me the only place you'd carry me is back into that bed."

Loki smiled. "You know me well, darling."

I put on my clothes from the night before, and began limping out the door.

"Where are you going?" Loki asked.

"Breakfast. Care to join me, my husband?" Loki beamed at my new title for him. It was as if I was just awknowledging the fact that I was married to him.

"Why yes. And fear not, the limping should wear off in a couple days."

A couple _days? AHHHH FUUUUUUCKKK!_ Everyone would know that we had sex.

I was blushing involentarily.

"OH, are you ashamed my wife? Ashamed that I made love to you?" Loki was learning to read me.

"No, I am only worried that I won't be able to fight for a couple days, and for such a private reason." Loki smiled.

"You are adorable when you lie. I am not ashamed. In fact, I think I might tell _everyone_ how you moaned my name and cried when I bust your hym-"

I punched him in the arm. Loki set to laughing at me.

"That got a responce. Come on, love. Let us go to breakfast." He held out a hand. I took it, and limped off with Loki to the dining hall.

XXXXXXX

When we got there, everyone else was already sitting. Sif and Thor were the first to smirk at my condition. Then Freya was blushing at the realization. The warriors three were barely containing their laughter. Odin simply smiled. Jane looked worried.

"Lady Erica, you seem... off today." Thor noticed.

"I wonder _why._" Sif replied.

She glared playfully at Loki. I knew my cheeks were cherry red by this point. The warriors three were now guffawing shamelessly, and they had begun falling over. Odin buried his face into his hand, and was massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Everyone stop this immaturity immediatly!" He commanded.

Everyone was immediatly silent and went back to eating. Jane looked to me. She gestured her eyes to the garden. Her classic "we need to talk" gesture. As soon as I had finished eating, we excused ourselves. I limped behind Jane to the garden.

"Are you okay Erica? Did Loki hurt you?" I shook my head.

"Just a little. It was my first time." Jane looked puzzled.

"You were a vigin?" I nodded. Why was everyone so surprised?

"So... um... how was it?" Jane asked awkwardly. I smiled.

"Fucking amazing. Better than I expected sex to be."

"Great! Glad to know that you're okay."

"Yes. Now I'm going to soak in a bathtub and let this soreness pass."

"Good idea. I did the same thing after Thor and I-"

"I don't need to hear that, Jane. Thor is my brother-in-law."

"I see your point. Feel better." Jane said, blushing at her slip of the tongue.

"Thanks." I said and limped to my chambers.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks later:

Loki and I have been having sex almost every night. I was no longer limping, and felt wonderful in the morning. Accept... I had developed a stomach virus. It worried me at first, seeing as I don't normally get sick, but then I remembered my Asgardian cold. Perhaps it was just another virus that I was not immune to.

This morning I had woken up in Loki's bed once again. He was asleep, the sun glinting off of his raven black hair. God he was georgous. I sat up. OOOOHHH. My stomach felt queasy. I ran to the bathroom, and immediatly hurled into the Asgardian version of a toilet. My loud noises awoke Loki, who rushed to my side.

"Darling, are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" I retorted, and once again vomitted. Loki held my hair back, short as it may be.

"Perhaps we should call upon the healer."

"No, I will be alright. I heal quickly." I reassured.

Loki stoked my hair and let me finish. Soon I felt better. Much better.

"See, I'm fine." I said, standing.

"Are you sure?" I nodded.

"If this gets much worse, I expect you to call upon the healer. If you won't, then I will."

I nodded. Loki was always trying to care for me, doting over me. It was so cute.

We went to breakfast. Loki expected me not to be hungry. How wrong he was. I was eating everything in sight. Even the warriors three began staring in shock. I had eaten three legs of mutten, twelve pastries, two cups of milk, and at least five bananas.

"Um... Lady Erica... you are consuming more food than all three of us could do, that includes him." Thor pointed to the largest of the Warriors three.

"HEY!" He called through a mouth full of grapes.

Loki was most concerned. My fluctuating appetite and stomach flu were worrying him greatly.

He kept insisting for another week that I see the healer. After a whie I conceded.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the Healing Room

"Lady Erica, I have run many tests, and have concluded the sourse of your ailment." The older woman said, pacing across the room to retreive a bottle of blue liquid.

"Well, what is wrong with me?" She looked over at me.

"You have no stomach virus."

"Then what is it?"

She took a deep breath. "Lady Erica, you are with child." My heart did a flip in my ribcage.

This was impossible. I was not supposed to be able to have children. Yet I was overjoyed. Beyond words. This was my only wish, to be a mother.

"How is this possible? My eggs are malformed, I cannot be pregnant."

"Perhaps it is because you have concieved with a god. They_ are_ magical."

So because Loki was a god... I could have a baby with him? My eyes swelled with joyous tears. I didn't care. This was a miracle. I loved Loki for this, he gave me the greatest gift of my life.

"Thank you!" I said to the healer. I ran out to tell Loki. Then an awful thought stopped me in my tracks. What if... what if it was a fluke? What if I'd miscarry before my belly even swelled. Loki would be devastated.

That was when I decided to wait to tell him. At least until I was sure that the baby was going to develop to term. When I saw him, I had alreay came up with my temporary lie.

"So, did she tell you when it would pass?"

"Yes. It should be gone in a few weeks." I fibbed smoothly.

"Excellent." He said as we walked together. I felt guilty, but I thought it would be better if... if I _did_ miscarry, that his heart would not have to be broken. Only mine. And if so, he'd never have to know.


	36. Home

Two and a half months Later: Mid-December

Erica POV:

The snow was falling lightly outside. I stared out of our chambers (Loki's chamber had become my own) and sighed. My baby was still inside of me, but I have yet to tell Loki. My womb was just barely beginning to pop, too small for anyone to really notice. I would tell him soon. I had settled on Christmas day, which was December 24th in Asgard. (Does it shock anyone that the gods of Asgard have Christmas? They learned it from us, as Loki had explained.) I thought it would be a romantic idea.

Ugh, look at me. Thinking about how to make Christmas romantic. If I could travel back in time, my old self would beat me to a pulp. But hey, I fell in love. Also, I am pregnant. My old self would be jumping for joy at that.

Thinking about the holidays made me remember my family. I remember sitting around the Christmas tree, Melody would sing carols and Josie would stick bows in her hair. My mom would sip eggnog and snuggle up with my dad. They would kiss under the mistletoe, which my dad put under every freakin' doorway. He was a romantic guy at heart. I used to think all of it was sickening. Now I just miss them. My family would be shocked at how much I've changed. How my life has changed.

If I told my story to Josie, she'd squeal and say it was the most romantic thing ever. Melody would probably right a song, or a play about it. Mom would think that it figures that I had to forced into marrige to a Norse god before I'd fall in love. My dad... he'd probably do one of two things:

Beam at how his baby girl had won the heart of one of our cutures' gods, or

Beat the shit out of Loki for kidnapping me.

To be honest, I could see it going both ways. I felt saddened that I'd never see them again. I must have looked depressed, because when Loki entered the room, his face grew concerned.

"Erica, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just... a little homesick. I miss my family."

Loki embraced me. "I love you. I want to make you happy."

"I know, honey. But this is just one thing that you can't help me with."

He kissed me. "I know." He said and walked away.

Loki POV:

She missed her family? My beloved was homesick? Well that would not do. I walked off to talk to Odin about a surprise for my wife.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Erica POV:

Just a week before Christmas. My homesickness was getting even worse. Now I was pacing through the garden, trying to take my mind off of it. Then I saw Loki.

"Good afternoon, my love!" He called.

"Hey honey." I replied sadly.

"Why so glum? Homesick?" I nodded.

"Well I have a little surprise for you. Come with me."

He grabbed my hand. Loki dragged me to the bridge, where he put his hands over my eyes.

"Loki! Is this really necessary?" He giggled.

"All part of what a proper surprise is." I gave up on arguing as he led me down the long bridge. Loki suddenly instructed me to stop.

"Here we are!" He yelled, and uncovered my eyes. The bifrost was rebuilt!

"Oh my god! I can't believe it!"

"Yes. It is fully functioning." Loki explained.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Well, you are going to be on its maiden voyage. To Midgard."

I stopped breathing. "W-what?"

"Yes. You are going 'home for the holidays' as you might say. You are now allowed free access between Asgard and Midgard. I spoke with my father, he is allowing it. Nobody sees any reason why you would not return. Even if you didn't, we could always come get you."

I kissed him passionatly on the lips. Loki wrapped his arms around me. "Thank you. I love you so much, Loki."

"You are welcome. Now you best pack, you leave tonight."

"Really?" He nodded.

I couldn't have been happier.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I will return New Years Day, Loki. I promise."

"I know my dear. Good luck with your family." He told me.

"Yes. I will need it. I have a lot of explaining to do." Loki chuckled.

"You will be alright. Remember to be at the exact spot you land at by midnight on New Years."

I nodded. "Good. I expect to hear all about your travels when you return." I nodded and smiled.

"Of course. Goodbye, my husband." Loki nodded.

"I will see you soon, my beloved." He said just as I found myself hurtling towards Earth in a tunnel of rainbow.

"I"M COMMMMIIIIIINNG HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMEEEEEEEE!" I shouted.

Loki POV:

A few hours after my love left, I said my goodbyes for my own voyage to Midgard.

"Are you sure about this, brother?" Thor asked.

"Yes. I want to meet my wife's family."

"Is that all, brother?"

I smiled. "You caught me. I don't want another man to lay his hands on my wife. I'll be keeping an eye on her for a few days, then I will make my presense known."

Thor nodded. "Don't cause too much trouble, Loki."

"I am the god of mischief. I can make no promises." Thor laughed.

"I should expect nothing less. See you again soon, my brother."

I nodded. "Likewise." I said and traveled through the portal.

As I landed, I looked around me. It was a snow covered meadow, the stars shining bright above me.

"This will be fun." I said to myself as I walked to find my beloved.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS STORY IS FINISHED. LOOKS LIKE ERICA WILL HAVE SOME EXTRA FUN OVER THE HOLIDAYS!

p.s. THE FINAL STORY WILL BE CALLED 'HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS' AND IT WILL BE IN THE TRUE BLOOD/AVENGERS CROSSOVER SECTION. I HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED THE TALE!


	37. NOTICE TO READERS!

EVERYONE: THE SEQUEL IS UP! LETTING YOU ALL KNOW! -thank you to Ellize Avalon for pointing out that I should put a notice up. THANKS FOR READING!


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